Sheriff Jefferson Davis Kurtz

Jefferson Davis Kurtz

Sheriff Jefferson Kurtz was shot and killed while he and the sheriff of Putnam County attempted to arrest a man who had been in a shootout with another man in Ormond Beach.

The suspect was located in a cabin in the Ormond Beach community of Leberia. The two sheriffs waited there as a deputy returned to town to obtain a warrant. As nightfall approached the two sheriffs decided that they needed to arrest the suspect to prevent him from fleeing. During the arrest Sheriff Kurtz was shot in the chest and fatally wounded. The other sheriff was able to return fire and struck the suspect three times, killing him.

Sheriff Kurtz had a brother and a nephew who were also killed in the line of duty while serving the Volusia County Sheriff's Department. His brother, Deputy Charles Kurtz, was shot and killed on September 3, 1907, and his nephew, Deputy William Kremer, was shot and killed on December 10, 1898.

Sheriff Kurtz had served in law enforcement for seven years including four years with the Volusia County Sheriff's Office. He was survived by his father, two sisters and two brothers.