Richard Rudy Raczkoski was a 29-year-old deputy with the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office when he was killed in the line of duty on September 23, 1986. The incident happened around 3 a.m. in Vero Beach while he was investigating a suspicious person using a pay phone in front of a closed convenience store. A handgun reportedly fell from the suspect’s pants; as Deputy Raczkoski moved to take cover behind his patrol car the suspect picked up the gun and shot him five times in the back.

The suspect, William Reaves, was arrested two days later in Albany. He was convicted of first-degree murder and, after a jury recommendation, sentenced to death in 1992. Deputy Raczkoski was posthumously awarded a Medal of Valor by the International Police Association. He left behind a son, Matthew, who was born after his death and lives in South Carolina with his mother.

Does anyone have memories of Deputy Raczkoski or new information about the shooting scene that could add detail to the record?