Lieutenant Grover Clifton Cooper, III

Grover Clifton Cooper, III

Lieutenant Cooper and Sergeant James Wouters were shot and killed while participating in a drug raid at a mobile home at Midway and Christianson Roads in White City.

At 9:40 pm, Lieutenant Cooper, Sergeant Wouters, and a third officer entered the front of the home, identifying themselves as police officers. Once inside, there was a barrage of gunfire. The other officers on the scene called for backup and went to the house's perimeter. K9s entered the home, and two officers entered after them to retrieve the fallen officers.

One of the suspects fled during the gunfire and was never charged. The shooter was shot and killed during the gunfire. The third suspect confessed to the drug deal but received 20 years in prison for both murder charges and 15 years for drug charges to be served concurrently.

Lieutenant Cooper succumbs to his wounds before midnight. Sergeant Wouters underwent surgery but died the following afternoon. The third officer was wounded but survived.

He was survived by his wife, son, and daughter.

Lieutenant Cooper was posthumously promoted.

On January 12, 2012, exactly twenty-five years after Lieutenant Grover C. Cooper III and Sergeant James A. Wouters were slain, the Fort Pierce Police Department Main Station was dedicated in their honor and officially renamed the Grover C. Cooper III, James A. Wouters Main Police Station.