By Melanie Payne, Michael Braun, Melissa Montoya and Brittany Bernstein, Fort Myers News-Press
Fort Myers police Officer Adam Jobbers-Miller died Saturday at Lee Memorial Hospital, a week after he was shot in the head while trying to apprehend a fleeing suspect.
FMPD Capt. Jay Rodriguez, when asked about Jobbers-Miller’s condition and about a number of police cars that had suddenly raced to the hospital around 6 p.m., said simply, “We lost him.”
(Fort Myers Police Department have confirmed that Officer Jobbers-Miller has passed away. Courtesy of Fox 4 Now and YouTube. Posted on Jul 29, 2018.)
“It is with a heavy heart that we inform our community that Fort Myers Police Officer Adam Jobbers-Miller has passed away,” FMPD spokesman Mitch Haley wrote in an email release.
“We ask that you continue to pray for Officer Jobbers-Miller’s family, friends and our entire Fort Myers Police Department family.”
Jobbers-Miller had been in critical condition since last Saturday night when he was wounded chasing Wisner Desmaret, a suspect in the reported theft of a cellphone from a car at the Marathon service station on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Jobbers-Miller, 29, a Fort Myers police officer since September 2015, was the only officer injured during the incident.
Desmaret was also injured and remains in custody at Lee Memorial Hospital.
Jobbers-Miller is the sixth Fort Myers Police Department officer to die in the line of duty.
“It’s a very low time right now for our city and for the Miller family,” said Mayor Randy Henderson.
“We need to stay intensely focused on the family and their support. This will serve as a reminder to us all – first responders, law enforcement officers face these challenges every day. We love them and respect them and at this time we embrace all of them.”
“Our hearts are heavy to learn of the passing of Officer Jobbers-Miller,” Gov. Rick Scott said late Saturday in a statement.
“Police officers like Adam Jobbers-Miller put their lives on the line every day to keep our communities safe.”
“My wife, Ann, and I are praying for his family and everyone in the entire Lee County law enforcement community this evening.”
Under gray skies and a steady drizzle, dozens of police officers gathered and hugged each other in front of the auditorium at Lee Memorial Hospital on Cleveland Avenue as the somber news of Jobbers-Miller’s death spread throughout Southwest Florida’s law enforcement community.
Before moving to Florida to pursue a career as a police officer, Jobbers-Miller worked as a volunteer firefighter in Wayne, New Jersey, a small township about 20 miles from midtown Manhattan.
On Friday evening in Wayne, the Fire Co. 2 house Adam Jobbers-Miller once called home was packed for a vigil, as family and friends held candles and remembered the former township resident who joined the department before he moved to Florida to continue his dream of helping others.
“When Adam joined [Co. 2] in 2009, it was an honor being his chief and to watch him grow into such a devoted, dedicated firefighter,” said Fire Co. 2 Chief John Gabriel.
Jobbers-Miller feared nothing, said Gabriel.
The drive and motivation led Jobbers-Miller to join the Fort Myers Police Department.
A GoFundMe account established for Jobbers-Miller’s family had reached more than $57,000 by Saturday night.
Numerous local businesses have held or scheduled fundraisers and volunteers nearly overwhelmed Lee Health Blood Centers after it called for blood donations.
(Press conference: Wisner Desmaret identified as suspect in shooting off Fort Myers Police officer. Courtesy of Fox 4 Now and YouTube. Posted on Jul 23, 2018.)
The Suspect
Desmaret, at 29, is the same age as Jobbers-Miller. But that may be the only thing the two men had in common.
Plagued by mental illness, Desmaret was at one time a professional boxer who got his start with Fort Myers’ Police Athletic League.
He showed promise as a boxer, said Larry Willis, who headed up the PAL boxing program when Desmaret trained there.
“He was our state champion,” Willis said.
Dubbed “The Haitian Sensation,” he won his first championship belt at a tournament in Tampa in 2008.
In April 2015, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation issued Desmaret a boxing participant license.
Records show it expired in December 2015 and was never renewed.
A native of Haiti, Desmaret lived in Fort Myers at least from age 9, according to a 2008 News-Press profile.
His first serious run-in with law enforcement, according to records from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, was in 2002 when Desmaret was 13. He was arrested for burglary and larceny.
He was arrested seven more times as a juvenile.
As an adult, Desmaret was arrested 16 times, most recently in Sarasota County.
His record shows only one conviction, for a misdemeanor.
Other cases were dropped, abandoned or dismissed often because Desmaret’s inability to stand trial due to mental illness.
The case in Sarasota County, for cocaine possession remains open.
On July 19, Desmaret was released on bond after having been committed to a state mental health treatment center for more than a year.
Three days later, Jobbers-Miller and Desmaret crossed paths in Fort Myers.
Last Sunday, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency filed a detainer against Desmaret.
An immigration detainer is a tool used by ICE and Department of Homeland Security officials to identify individuals in local law enforcement custody who could be deported from the United States.
An ICE hold had been previously placed on Desmaret after a 2010 arrest for burglary, theft and possession of burglary tools.
The state attorney’s office did not prosecute the case due to insufficient evidence and Desmaret was released.
The Investigation
Desmaret had been facing eight felonies, including attempted first-degree murder, a charge carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The charges are likely to change now that Jobbers-Miller has died.
Desmaret has yet to be arrested but remains in police custody at the hospital.
FDLE is also handling the investigation of the crime scene and the shooting while Fort Myers police delve into the criminal case.
“FDLE investigates these cases only at the request of the local agency,” said agency spokeswoman Jessica Cary.
The agency’s policy on such investigations allows them to assist in the investigation of incidents involving deadly force by a law enforcement, or correctional officer, or other use of force incidents.
(According to investigators, 1 police officer was shot during the incident, that took place near Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard around 7 p.m. Courtesy of Fox 4 Now and YouTube. Posted on Jul 21, 2018.)
SWFL Reacts
“I’m so sorry for the officer and for the family.”
Fort Myers Councilwoman Teresa Watkins-Brown said she is praying for Jobbers-Miller’s family.
“It’s just something that you never want to happen in your city,” she said. “My heart is heavy right now.”
She said she knows the police department has worked hard to improve relationships with community members.
“For this to happen, I hope it’s not a setback or a disconnect that may take place,” Watkins-Brown said.
“I hope they continue their outreach to the community. It’s hard for us right now and I pray that the community is actually mourning with us on this.”
Keldy Ortiz of the Bergen (N.J.) Record contributed to this report.
Editor’s note: Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Fort Myers Officer Jobbers-Miller and his fellow officers. Thank you Officer for serving the citizens of Wayne, NJ, and Fort Myers with pride and distinction. Godspeed Sir.
