CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. — It’s easy to see why Andy Lahera was so beloved as a school resource deputy with the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office.
Facebook Live videos from during the pandemic show how the affable deputy would teach students to fold origami.
“Stay safe, wash your hands, and be kind,” he tells them in a video from May 2020, where he shows them how to fold a paper rose for Mother’s Day.
But his love for students went beyond origami. His wife, Michelle Lahera, said he also made a commitment to protect the district’s students after the 2018 school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
“He said, ‘What happened at Parkland will never happen under my watch in our county,’” Lahera recalled. “I know I'm his wife, but he is the most amazing person you will have ever met in your life. He would do anything for anyone. It didn't matter.”
Her husband’s commitment was put on hold one year ago.
Deputy Lahera was nearly killed while on the job. He was hit by a teenage driver near Lecanto High School while directing traffic on South Lecanto Highway after a graduation ceremony.
“Basically, every part of his body was broken, including his orbital eye socket. He had punctured lungs, broken ribs, you know, anything that could have happened, he had it,” the deputy’s wife, Michelle Lahera, explained.
One year later, many of those injuries have healed. However, the deputy is still hospitalized in long-term acute care because his brain is still recovering after sustaining a traumatic injury during the incident.
The deputy still cannot walk or fully talk, and his motion is very limited. Every day is a fight.
“How badly do you also still need prayer for Andy at this point?” ABC Action News asked his wife.
“Every day, every day for the rest of his life,” she answered. “Every day.”
Michelle Lahera and the deputy’s son, Nicholas Lahera, aren’t just asking for prayers. They are also asking for more compassion and empathy from the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office.
“I really am surprised that things are the way they are right now,” Michelle Lahera said. “Things just took a very drastic turn. And I just — I don't understand.”
According to documents she provided to ABC Action News, just months after her husband’s injury, his pay was cut by 33.3% under Workers' Compensation.
The deputy’s family then received another letter in August 2023 informing them that Lahera would be “separated” from the department on Nov. 10, 2023. Since then, they said the separation date was pushed to August 2024.
“And I said, ‘Are you telling me that he's no longer going to be employed?’ And they said, ‘Yes, that's what we're telling you,’” the deputy’s wife explained.
She and her son said they are deeply worried about what that will mean for the injured deputy’s insurance and long-term well-being.
“For this to happen in the line of duty, through no fault of his own. And then things change so drastically — so quickly. It just does not fit right. And people need to know about it,” said Nicholas Lahera.
In a brief phone call with Sheriff Mike Prendergast, the sheriff called the Lahera family’s complaint “highly skewed" but did not elaborate.
In a statement sent to ABC Action News later in the evening, a sheriff's office spokesperson wrote, "The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office has remained unwaveringly committed to assisting Mrs. Lahera during this very difficult journey. It remains our steadfast desire that Andy make a full and complete recovery so that our colleague and dear friend can return to his community and continue to serve as a School Resource Deputy.”
Lahera had been with the department since 2009. According to his wife, he had served as a patrol deputy and detective before opting to become a school resource deputy.
The deputy’s ongoing recovery and service to the county will be recognized by the Citrus County Board of County Commissioners during a meeting next Tuesday.
Last month, weintroduced you to Jimmy Klass, a Floridian who learned he was not a U.S. citizen after living here for 64 years. ABC Action News reporter Katie LaGrone is following through with updates to his story, while also sharing the story of another Floridian who learned she was not a U.S. citizen after 60 years in the U.S.
