Polk County deputy laid to rest after he was killed in the line of duty by friendly fire

LAKELAND, Fla. - It was a somber day in Lakeland as hundreds of law enforcement officers from across the state turned out to watch Polk County Deputy Blane Lane be laid to rest. He was 21 years old when he was killed in the line of duty by friendly fire. 

It was Lane's dream to become a deputy, and while his time with the force was short, the impact he made runs deeps. No one expected the 21-year-old deputy's law enforcement career to be so incredibly short, less than nine months. 

Law enforcment officers from across Florida as well as friends, relatives, and Governor Ron DeSantis said their final farewell at Victory Church. It was especially difficult for the young deputy's tight-knit family. 

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"My heart is shattered," Lane's grandfather Darrell Sodders said. "I hope the memory of Blane Lane will go forever."

Ever since Lane was four years old, he knew he wanted to be the next Polk County sheriff, just like Grady Judd. 

"Blane [Lane] would watch my press conferences and quote my lines. He told everybody he was going to be a deputy sheriff, and one day he was going to be the sheriff," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said. 

Little did anyone know that Lane would be the center of one of Judd's press conferences after being hit by friendly fire. Ex-con Cheryl Williams pulled what appeared to be a real gun on Polk County deputies as they were serving a warrant. 

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"There is one person and only one person to blame who is solely responsible for Deputy Sheriff Lane's death," Sheriff Judd said. "It is that horrible felon who ran, who hid, who resisted the law, again and again."

Aside form kind words, and pomp and circumstance, Lane got what was perhaps the ultimate honor. Sheriff Judd swore him in as the sheriff for all eternity.