Published on Wednesday, January 17, 2007
in the Highlands Today

A Lawman's Final Tribute

LAKE PLACID - They came from their homes, from Florida Hospital Lake Placid and from out of state. Some came on motorcycles, some in squad cars, helicopters and golf carts.

They journeyed there to pay their respects to fallen Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Nicholas Sottile Sr., who was fatally shot Friday while making a traffic stop.

Hundreds of spectators lined the 11-mile route of his funeral procession Tuesday afternoon, from Restoration Church of the Highlands on State Road 66 in Sebring to Oak Hill Cemetery in Lake Placid.

"We have to pay our respects to a fallen trooper," said David Nunez, a physician from Florida Hospital Lake Placid. "I feel for the family."

In front of the Buttonwood Bay RV park, residents greeted the oncoming motorcade with silent salutes from their golf carts while under the shade of umbrellas.

Enduring the summerlike heat, Tammy Haskett, a resident and park ranger at Buttonwood Bay, said she and community manager Terry Wells sent out fliers to alert everyone to the procession. About 600 residents came out for the tribute, Haskett said.

"I've seen a lot of grown men cry today," Haskett said.

Near the hospital, nurses and other staff sat outdoors and waited for the procession.

Only a few spectators personally knew Sottile, but many didn't need to know him to relate.

"We're all brothers," said Sebring resident Ned Doran, a retired detective from the police department in Milford, Conn. "We all pay our respects."

The sentiment was universal among current and retired troopers and officers, several hundred of whom were in the procession. Some watching the procession also reflected on the shooting.

"We feel it's just a senseless act," said a nurse from Florida Hospital who did not wish to be identified. "A young man is going to lose his life. ... If people would stop and think before they act, we would avoid these kinds of tragedies."

At the cemetery, law enforcement officers circled Sottile's grave site and played taps. Afterward, guns were fired three times before a final radio signal went out.

The radio went silent, and as the officers stood at attention, 16 helicopters flew overhead. An officer handed Sottile's wife and family a folded U.S. flag and his belongings.

For a minute, the officers remained expressionless. Some bowed their heads. The tears rolled down from behind sunglasses as they hugged one another.