November 10, 1911
Officer Yates attempted to detain a suspicious person in the early morning hours at the Union Station Train Depot in Plant City. The suspect drew a gun and fled on foot with Officer Yates and Stockade Guard Albert Garner in foot pursuit. The Stockade guard released two dogs that chased the suspect into a swampy area outside of town. The suspect shot and killed both dogs while Yates, Garner, and now a local citizen named Williams joined the search. As Yates, Garner, and Williams proceeded into the underbrush, the suspect stepped out from behind a tree and shot Officer Yates. Mr. Williams armed with a shotgun loaded only with bird shot fired and hit the suspect. The suspect returned fire and hit Garner. With both Yates and Garner down, the suspect managed to escape into the underbrush. After the wounded men were brought back to town, over a hundred local citizens along with officers and bloodhounds from Tampa continued the search. Officer Yates died from his wounds and guard Garner recovered. The suspect Lee Armstead was arrested by a Deputy Sheriff in Pasco County, FL and taken to the Dade City Jail. The suspect was later transferred under heavy guard to the Tampa jail under the supervision of Hillsborough Sheriff Robert Jackson. The suspect gave a statement confessing to the shooting of both officers.
Officer Down Memorial Link: http://www.odmp.org/officer/17376-police-officer-robert-e-yates
. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/30873284/robert-e-yates
. https://nleomf.org/fallen-heroes/robert-e-yates/

Note: Officer Robert Yates was employed by Plant City and the Guard, Albert Garner, was employed by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office who ran the stockade at the railroad depot.
David Boyett, Chief of Police, Sunrise Police Department. Some long newspaper columns may appear too small to read, select a large size below the photo.