Edgewater, FL – A 26-year-old Edgewater woman has been arrested after she set fire to a home and stabbed an off-duty Volusia County Sheriff’s deputy when he tried to intervene in a fight.
According to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office (VCSO), Brittany Bonin was fighting with a man on the property of a Volusia Sheriff’s deputy who lived nearby. At around 4:20 PM on Saturday, VCSO veteran and former marine, Capt. Cliff Williams, was stabbed in the lower back when he tried to shield a man from Bonin.
The incident occurred on Pine Tree Drive in Edgewater. Bonin also set fire to the house in which the argument was started. She has since been charged with aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer as well as 1st-degree arson of a dwelling where people are present.
(Bonin mugshot courtesy of Volusia County Corrections)
Williams suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was treated at a nearby hospital. Williams has a 25-year career with the VCSO. After serving with the United States Marine Corps, Williams began working with the VCSO in 1989. Williams served at the courthouse and in internal affairs as well as in road patrol, recruitment, and as a watch commander. He led the VCSO Honor Guard, created a juvenile boot camp program, and worked as assistant commander of District 6 in DeBary. In 2014, Williams retired but came back in 2015 to lead the PAL program. “It just goes to show you are never truly off duty,” said Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood. “He took a knife wound that was meant for someone else because his instinct was to step in as a protector. I’m not surprised he did — he’s proven and tough, and that’s what our men and women are trained to do. I’m just a little surprised the knife didn’t bend when it hit him." Copyright Southern Stone Communications 2017.
