Roller coaster of emotions after shooting

FORT WALTON BEACH - Recovery time for deputies and other grieving lawmen will last as long as they need it, officials said Tuesday.

"It's uncharted territory," said Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Michele Nicholson. "They'll be given some time off just to cope with what they've been through."

That time off will be paid administrative leave, and Sheriff Charlie Morris told reporters that lawmen will deal with the death of Deputy Anthony Forgione as a family.

Meanwhile, a friend of Mark Rohlman grieved because she said the shooting was unnecessary. During a press conference after the deaths, she stressed that there were two families grieving.

But the staff at the Sheriff's Office was "numb" for the day, Nicholson said. Most had "trouble processing" Forgione's sudden death.

Even for lawmen accustomed to the risks of dealing with armed or unstable people, the sudden shock of Tuesday's shootings could be overwhelming, one former lawman said.

Don Vinson, a retired chief investigator with the Sheriff's Office, said Special Response Team survivors would fight a range of emotions.

"Even the person or persons who shot (Rohlman), they're going to be dealing with anger," Vinson said.

"And then they're going to come to realize that they killed somebody," too - part of their job.

"They'll be going through a roller coaster of emotions," said Dave Bracewell, who spent 12 years with the Crestview Police Department before he became a minister and police chaplain.

"They're gonna miss their comrade in arms," he said. "Even our guys over at C.P.D. - if you didn't know him, it's still one of us that fell."

The deputies on Forgione's Special Response Team were receiving immediate counseling Tuesday. Chaplains and counselors were available for all the staff.

At the Fort Walton Beach police department, where Forgione once worked, Capt. Rose Berry said his death was sobering.

"It's not something that you ever want to happen," she said. But "sometimes when it happens, there's absolutely nothing you can do."

Grief spread to Oklahoma, where Stan Newton, former head chaplain at the Sheriff's Office, said the outpouring of support would be enormous.

"There is nothing that I've ever seen that compares to what Okaloosa County is going to see" at Forgione's funeral, he said.

"His loss isn't just a local community thing. I still feel like that's one of my deputies."

The funeral service for Anthony Forgione is set for 2 p.m. Saturday at the Niceville Assembly of God. Visitation is from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the church.

Meanwhile, a trust fund for Forgione's wife Jessica and two young daughters, Caitlin and Cassie, has been opened at Beach Community Bank. Donations can be made to the Deputy Anthony Forgione Benefit Account at any bank branch.

Several readers have suggested that people drive with their headlights on as a tribute until Forgione is buried.