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Hernando Today

Police Captain Leaves Legacy Of Loyalty

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By KYLE MARTIN

Hernando Today

Published: February 21, 2009

Updated:

BROOKSVILLE - With almost half his life spent carrying a gun and badge, Capt. Scott Bierwiler had some stories to tell.

They're the foundation of the legacy that Capt. Bierwiler left behind Thursday after his sudden death in a car crash on Powell Road. He was 42.

On Friday, there were still few answers about the events surrounding the crash. The 16-year-old driver of the other vehicle, Andrew Morris, was in serious but stable condition on Saturday. Any answers as to what he was doing at 5:45 a.m. will be resolved by the Florida Highway Patrol in the days to come.

Meanwhile, funeral plans are moving forward for Capt. Bierwiler, and his many colleagues are reflecting on the man they lost.

The bookmarks of Capt. Bierwiler's 22-year career at the Hernando County Sheriff's Office can be found in the pages of his inches-thick personnel folder. It typifies police work in its range from commendations for courage in a shootout to a "thank you" note for corralling horses.

In back of the folder is a liability waiver to ride along with a deputy. The document dated Aug. 19, 1985, is approved by Sgt. Michael Hensley - now the sheriff's second in command.

The timeline continues with Capt. Bierwiler's signed oath of office dated Oct. 27, 1986. The glowing reviews he will receive from his supervisors throughout his career begin here.

As a sergeant overseeing the Vice and Narcotics Bureau he's hailed as "very dependable" and a professional in his dealings with the public. As a lieutenant: "wherever his troops are working, you will find Lt. Bierwiler. He sets the high standard for others to follow."

But it's the letters from the public that show the broad range of tasks Capt. Bierwiler tackled in his career. In 1991, he was part of the teams that solved two unrelated homicides in 72 hours. A "thank you" note from 1993 commends Capt. Bierwiler for corralling some loose horses back into their pen on Spring Lake Highway.

In 1996, he and another detective found the man who was anonymously sending threatening letters to the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Their suspect, 81-year-old Frank Janczlik, swore he never intended to follow up on his promises to "eliminate" the district.

In 1998, Capt. Bierwiler was one of the deputies waiting for Hank Earl Carr under the Interstate 75 overpass at State Road 50. Carr had already killed two detectives and a 4-year-old boy when he whizzed by in his car. The deputies exchanged gunfire with him.

Bullets would fly again in 2003, when a New Jersey cop killer wound up in Sumter County. Capt. Bierwiler was among the group who fired on Omar Marti, who killed himself just as several deputies' bullets struck him in the chest. Capt. Bierwiler would receive multiple honors from both his department and New Jersey.

From Nov. 1, 2004, is a letter from the Sumter County sheriff thanking Hernando's finest for their assistance in security during former President Bush's campaign stop in The Villages.

A desire to join the law enforcement brotherhood "was in his blood," his mother, Maureen Bierwiler, said Friday. "That's all he ever wanted to be."

Part of it was a desire to follow in his father's footsteps. Sgt. Frank Bierwiler began his as a New York state trooper, then served as a longtime public information officer at the Hernando County Sheriff's Office.

But there was also a quiet strength and a desire to serve that inspired his decision to join law enforcement.

"He wanted to help where he could," his mother said.

Although it must have proved a challenge, Capt. Bierwiler never showed the strain of juggling a busy career and his family. Even on long days that kept him at the office, Capt. Bierwiler always made it a point to call and check on his wife and kids, Bierwiler said.

Asked what she believed Capt. Bierwiler's legacy is, his mother didn't hesitate.

"That he loved without expecting anything in return. He would do anything for anyone, and he did it with a smile."

Visitation: 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 23, and Tuesday, Feb. 24, at St. Theresa's Catholic Church, 1107 Commercial Way, Spring Hill.

Funeral Mass: 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25, at St. Theresa's.

Interment immediately following the mass at Florida Hills Cemetery, 14354 Spring Hill Drive, Spring Hill.

The public is invited to the services, a sheriff's office spokesman said.

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.

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