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

'Friday, the world as we know it stopped'

SEBRING - Sgt. Nicholas Sottile was remembered as “a Trooper’s Trooper,” a devoted husband and father, a man of faith, a great cook and a captivating storyteller at his funeral Tuesday.

The 24-year veteran of the Florida Highway Patrol was shot Friday during a traffic stop outside of Lake Placid. Sottile, 48, died that evening at Florida Hospital Lake Placid.

More than 2,500 people gathered at Restoration Church of the Highlands to honor the fallen trooper, including about 2,000 law enforcement personnel from throughout the state and country, including Florida’s governor.

Several hundred FHP troopers helped perform the ceremonial aspects of the service. As the flag-draped casket was loaded into the hearse, troopers stood at attention, united in a Wall of Honor.

“It’s a sign of honor that everyone bestows on the fallen officer for giving his life,” FHP Lt. Doug Dodson said.

During the funeral, Gov. Charlie Crist thanked Sottile and all law enforcement officers for their service.

“Every day, Florida law enforcement officers put themselves in harm’s way and put their lives on the line for us,” Crist said. “On behalf of citizens in the state of Florida, I thank you for this and for making our lives more secure and safe … We are forever indebted to you.”

FHP Sgt. Wesley Daum, who worked with Sottile, said the death of his colleague is a shock he is still trying to cope with.

“Friday, the world as we know it stopped, and it’s almost like we are in a fog now,” Daum said. “We are going to get through with the help of the people here who know and love Nick.”

Born in Avon Park, Sottile was raised in Lake Placid and graduated from Lake Placid High School. He started his career working for FHP in Miami but spent the majority of his years with Troop F - Arcadia.

“In this small, tight-knit community, the troopers and their families spend a lot of time together,” FHP Director Col. Christopher Knight said. “This loss creates a void that we aren’t yet sure how to fill.”

Sottile is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, and two children, daughter Heather, 19, and son Nicholas II, 22, who is an FHP trooper in the Tampa area.

FHP Cpl. Ed Finneran, who worked with Sottile for most of his career, said he was always proud of his family.

“One legacy he left behind was his family and he produced another trooper,” Finneran said. “His family was No. 1 to him. He was a very devoted husband and father. I wish I could leave behind a legacy like that.”

The Rev. Raymond Cameron, who was a personal friend of Sottile’s, said Sottile was a passionate person and faithful Christian.

“Nick Sottile loved life and he embraced life, and he called others along to embrace it with him,” Cameron said. “If you had Nick Sottile as a friend, you had a true friend.”

Cameron held up a bright orange T-shirt Sottile bought on a trip their families took together to Field of the Woods, in N.C., which seemed to sum up his feelings about his friend.

“Live your life so the preacher won’t have to lie at your funeral,” the bright orange T-shirt read.

Capt. Jimmy Picañol graduated from the FHP Training Academy, in Quincy, Fla., with Sottile in June, 1983.

“We supported each other and he supported everyone,” Picanol said. “Being from a small town, he always had a positive attitude about everything. And he knew about 1,000 jokes.”

About every law enforcement agency in Florida was represented, and Deputy Terry Corbin, of Citrus County’s Sheriff’s Office, said that’s a typical showing.

“Law enforcement is a family,” Corbin said. “Whether you know the person or not, we come to show respect for the family and colleagues.”

Dennis Hallion, president of the National Troopers Coalition, flew from New Jersey to attend the funeral.

“Any time a trooper dies, it takes a little piece of all of us,” Hallion said. “The best thing we can do is be there and show the family we care, even as far away as New Jersey. He made the ultimate sacrifice out there enforcing the law and interacting with the community and we all know that any day, it could be one of us.”