Left: Timothy Price-Williams. Right: Corporal Ray Hamilton. (Images courtesy Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.)
A Florida man is behind bars after allegedly shooting and killing a sheriff’s deputy who was responding to a domestic violence call.
Timothy Paul Price-Williams, 43, has been charged with first degree premeditated murder in the death of Corporal Ray Hamilton. According to the Okaloosa Sheriff’s Office, Price-Williams opened fire on Hamilton and other deputies who had responded to a call to his home at around 9:00 a.m. Saturday.
The OCSO said that officials had been called to the home for a potential domestic disturbance battery.
“The victim reported Saturday morning that Price-Williams had slapped her in the face and shoved her during an argument the night before, taking away her phone so she could not call 9-1-1 for help,” the OSCO said in a press release.
After deputies made contact with Price-Williams, he refused to come out of his home, even after the OSCO Special Response Team was called in, the sheriff’s office said.
Price-Williams started shooting out of a window at around 12:40 p.m., striking Hamilton, the OSCO said.
“The OCSO Special Response Team was summoned to try to negotiate with Price-Williams to give himself up peacefully,” the OSCO said. “Several deputies, including Corporal Ray Hamilton, entered an area behind the backyard fence of the premises to help establish a safe perimeter. Once they got into position, shots were fired from inside the home and Corporal Hamilton was struck.”
Hamilton, a five-year OSCO veteran and a member of the department’s Special Response Team, was rushed to the hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries shortly after 3:00 p.m., the sheriff’s office said.
According to the OSCO, Price-Williams was shot by deputies after he “came out [of the home] that caused another deputy to fire on him, injuring Price-Williams in his right arm.”
“He received medical attention at the hospital and was then transported to the jail on a charge of premeditated murder,” the OSCO added.
“We are devastated by the grief of losing Corporal Hamilton, a deputy who was a ray of sunshine in the OCSO, dedicated to protecting others,” Sheriff Eric Aden said in a statement. “We appreciate the endless stream of words of support that have come in for his family and his co-workers as we face this heartbreaking loss of a profoundly loved and respected friend, public servant, and hero.”
Okaloosa Department of Corrections records indicate that bond for Price-Williams was denied and a future hearing date has not been set.
