PALM COAST, Fla. – A Flagler County deputy is being recognized for his role in peacefully resolving an hours-long standoff with an armed, suicidal man in Palm Coast earlier this week.
Deputy Bryan Carter, an eight-year veteran with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office and trained crisis negotiator, was the key figure in talking 22-year-old Isaac Lewis into surrendering Monday after Lewis held a loaded gun to his own head.
“Seeing the scene, seeing the way he was struggling — the way he was — I didn’t know what to say for the first time in negotiations. I was honestly scared,” Carter said.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office was initially called to Ember Lane in Palm Coast for a domestic disturbance — specifically, a man accused of violating a domestic violence no-contact order. Investigators say Lewis fled in his car, nearly striking a deputy, before returning to the scene and holding a loaded gun to his own head.
[WATCH: Flagler deputy negotiator talks armed man into peaceful surrender]
What followed was a nearly three-hour crisis negotiation captured on Carter’s body camera.
“I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on. Are you OK? Can we have a conversation?” Carter can be heard saying to Lewis in the video.
The conversation began in person before switching to a phone call. At one point, Lewis’ phone died, prompting the negotiation team to send a robot to deliver a backup phone so the two could keep talking.
“The words that came out of my mouth that day were not from any textbook, it was not scripted, it was just what was laid on my heart to say to him,” Carter said.
Carter says he connected with Lewis over shared faith — a bond he believes ultimately helped convince Lewis to surrender.
“You have a whole life to figure out and make better and become a better Christian man, OK? And we can make this journey together. I will bring you to church with me. I’m telling you, I’ll bring you to church with me,” Carter told Lewis during the standoff.
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Carter also made a simple promise: coffee.
“Something as simple as promising a coffee. I said if you would surrender to me and trust me — have a little faith and trust me — I said I will meet you at the hospital and I’ll bring you any coffee you want, and I did that,” Carter said.
That promise extended beyond the standoff. Carter visited Lewis in the hospital after he surrendered.
“You are a good dude. I would be so proud to have you as a brother, Isaac,” Carter told Lewis during the negotiation.
“That hurt seeing him out there. I saw a young man, 22 years old, in pain, and it didn’t settle with me well — and with everybody out there — he just needed somebody to talk to for a little bit,” Carter said.
Carter says his commitment to Lewis didn’t stop when the standoff ended — and he hopes to remain a steady presence in the young man’s life.
“He needs a constant in his life. He was struggling, and I’m hoping I can continue to be that for him. It doesn’t end here,” Carter said.
Carter even gave Lewis his personal cell phone number — something he says he has never done before.
“I’m scared to death that he’s going to get out of there and forget our conversation. I’m hoping he reaches out. He has my personal cell phone number. I gave that to him. Something told me to do that. I’ve never done that before,” Carter said.
The Flagler County Sheriff says training and technology are important tools in situations like these, but compassion, humanity and patience are what matter most. The department is expected to formally honor Carter’s work in the near future.