Beverage Enforcement Agent Sherman Lamar Davis

Sherman Lamar Davis

Beverage Enforcement Agent Sherman Davis succumbed to head injuries he received in a vehicle crash on Memorial Highway and Interstate 4 in Lakeland on February 1, 1971.

Agent Davis and two other agents were inspecting liquor licenses at Polk County bars and were en route to another establishment when their vehicle struck a culvert and flipped. One agent was transported to the hospital with a back injury, and the other agent was uninjured. Agent Davis suffered a head injury. After the crash, a blood clot burst, causing blood vessels in his brain to hemorrhage and putting Agent Davis in a coma for four months. After surgery to remove pressure from his brain, he remained in a minimally conscious state until he passed away on March 11, 1987.

Agent Davis was a United States National Guard veteran and had served with the Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco for over two years. He previously served with the Polk County Sheriff's Office. He was survived by two daughters, his father, two brothers, and a sister.