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What's in a name?
Security guard died in line of duty
Robert Timberlake lost his life escorting a drifter to the Social Security offices on the fifth floor.
By MICHAEL CANNING
Published July 23, 2004
Robert L. Timberlake Jr. Federal Building and Annex
As the elevator doors opened on the fourth floor of the Tampa Federal Building the morning of Jan. 24, 1979, a witness saw a federal security guard and a man inside struggling over the guard's .38-caliber revolver.
The elevator doors closed. A shot rang out.
When the doors opened on the fifth floor, another person saw Robert Timberlake fighting with Michael Wragge, a drifter and former mental patient who had previous run-ins with Timberlake and other Federal Protective Service officers at the Federal Building. The elevator then returned to the fourth floor, where the first witness saw Wragge shoot Timberlake as the doors opened. The elevator proceeded to the third floor, where a U.S. Customs agent and Wragge exchanged one shot each.
In the lobby, Tampa police officers and FBI agents stood ready. When the elevator opened, they found Wragge holding the revolver to his head, and Timberlake's body slumped in the corner.
Drop the gun, an officer yelled. Instead, Wragge fired a shot at the officers and agents. He missed. Authorities opened fire. Wragge was struck four times and fell next to Timberlake, who also was shot four times.
It had started moments earlier in the lobby, where Timberlake had agreed to escort Wragge to the Social Security offices on the fifth floor. Timberlake died in the elevator. Wragge survived and later was found not guilty by reason of mental incompetence.
Timberlake, a native of Bannock, Ohio, was a World War II veteran. He was praised as an amiable person and good police officer, having served with the Akron Police Department for 12 years before moving to Tampa in 1970. He joined the Federal Protective Service in September 1971. His survivors included a wife and three children.
Built in 1964, the seven-story Federal Building at 500 E Zack St. was renamed for Timberlake on June 15, 1979. His name also was bestowed on the 12-story annex at 501 E Polk St., which was completed in 1989.
- MICHAEL CANNING
Source: General Services Administration, Officer Down Memorial Page, Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library.
[Last modified July 22, 2004, 10:40:10]
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