Opposites In Life, Men Will Share Period Of Mourning

By MIKE WELLS The Tampa Tribune

Published: Aug 17, 2007

BRANDON - Motorists driving through the intersection at Lumsden Road and Kings Avenue on Thursday morning passed a makeshift memorial of cards and bouquets placed in memory of the Hillsborough County sheriff's sergeant slain there Wednesday.

A mile away, another memorial appeared on his killer's front porch, complete with plush toys, flickering candles and a large handmade card signed by his friends.

Although the tokens of sympathy appeared similar, Sgt. Ron Harrison and Michael Allen Phillips are being mourned for different reasons.

Harrison's loss has shaken the sheriff's office, his family and friends and the entire community.

Phillips' loved ones are questioning why he killed a law enforcement officer and what pushed him to have a shootout with others.

Phillips landed two bullets to Harrison's upper body, including a shot below the armpit that Sheriff David Gee described as "not a survivable wound." Harrison was not wearing a bullet-resistant vest at the time, officials said.

Phillips died shortly afterward in his home after firing more than 10 shots at deputies. Two snipers needed just one shot each to kill him. He was hit in the chest.

Message Of Sympathy

The gunman's house at 1707 Village Court was quiet Thursday morning, a contrast to the noisy nuisance his neighbors described of his loud car stereo and occasional bursts of gunfire in the back yard.

"Michael's entire family would like to express our sympathy for the officer and his family," Phillips' mother, Regina Van Amburg, said in a statement posted outside the door.

"This is a tragedy that both families, friends and the community are dealing with. No one will ever know why things like this happened the way they did but with the help from 'God' we will all join together and in time heal some of the pain from the loss we are all suffering."

Van Amburg fled the house with a child shortly before Phillips was killed Wednesday.

After a long day combing the streets for evidence and questioning witnesses, detectives gathered Thursday morning at the Major Crimes Unit office on Falkenburg Road to try again to determine what made Phillips fire a .45-caliber handgun into the unmarked patrol car Harrison was driving, sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said.

The handgun was stolen from a county not bordering Hillsborough, Carter said. She would not say which county because it is part of an ongoing investigation. Investigators do not yet know whether Phillips stole the gun or got it from someone else, Carter said.

As they searched his house Wednesday afternoon, deputies found handwritten materials expressing "an intense hatred for law enforcement and extreme racism" as well as "a large amount of stolen property: stereo equipment, DVD players, a television, camera, jewelry, collectible coins and stamps along with $800.00 in currency," according to a media release. Carter would not elaborate on who the racist material targeted.

Detectives also are reviewing 911 tapes and video surveillance tapes from a nearby 7-Eleven convenience store for clues, Carter said.

'Harrison Became The Hero'

Hearts are broken at the sheriff's office, and the administration is trying to serve its employees' emotional needs, said Maj. Bill Davis, Harrison's District II commanding officer.

"The mood is obviously very somber around the office," he said. "People are being very lethargic, and we don't have some of the normal revelry or the laughter right now that you might normally hear between people at work."

A supervising officer who worked closely with the sergeant was greatly upset and was sent home Wednesday night, he said.

Since the shooting, members of the agency's critical incident stress management team have been attending the district's patrol roll call meetings, answering questions and listening to deputies' concerns, Davis said.

The same team, which Davis described as similar to the group of crisis counselors who help Hillsborough students after tragic events, will soon meet with the DUI squad that Harrison supervised.

Friday night's DUI checkpoint has been canceled.

"Our employees are very near and dear to us," Davis said. "They are a very professional bunch, and they realize this is part of the job. … We as employers need to recognize the emotional needs of our employees. We have a responsibility to address that."

Sheriff Gee declined reporters' requests for interviews on Thursday and instead issued a personal statement:

"My relationship with Ron Harrison goes back many, many years when we were young deputies at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

"I could tell then that Ron was a cop's cop. He was no nonsense and focused. He carried that demeanor to the very end.

"Even while fatally wounded, he managed to turn on the emergency lights of his patrol car and, we believe, attempted to make it to the hospital. That shows the warrior that was in him. …

"Ron and I grew as deputies and men along side each other in this department. Our paths parted along the way, but our friendship never did.

"I became the Sheriff, but Ron Harrison became the hero."

Reporter Mike Wells can be reached at (813) 657-4534 or mwells@tampatrib.com. Keyword: Deputy, to listen to a 911 tape of Phillips' ex-girlfriend reporting the shooting.

SERVICES FOR SGT. RON HARRISON

VISITATION: 5 to 8 p.m. Monday at St. John Progressive Missionary Baptist Church, 2504 Chipco Ave.

FUNERAL SERVICES: 1 p.m. Tuesday at Idlewild Baptist Church on Van Dyke Road, just east of North Dale Mabry Highway. A procession will follow to Garden of Memories cemetery off Lake Avenue, east of 40th Street.