Slain Orlando Police Master Sgt. Debra Clayton was Dr. Phillips alumna, Ocoee resident

The passion Debra Clayton had for the Orlando community — and the Central Florida community, at large — was evident in the work she did as a master sergeant for the Orlando Police Department.

She grew up in the community, was educated in the community and chose to work in service of the community.

And, on Jan. 9, Clayton made the ultimate sacrifice for the community she cared so deeply about. 

Clayton was shot and killed in the line of duty while attempting to apprehend a murder suspect at Walmart in northwest Orlando at the intersection of North John Young Parkway and Princeton Street.

Clayton, who lived in Ocoee with her husband, was a 17-year veteran of the department. 

Before joining the Orlando Police Department in 1999, she graduated from Dr. Phillips High School in 1993 and earned a bachelor’s degree in public administration from the University of Central Florida in 1998. Later, in 2002, she completed a master’s program in criminal justice, again at UCF.

The news of her passing came as a shock to Sanita Dhanraj, a neighbor of Clayton’s in northeast Ocoee.

“When I first saw the news, I saw the picture but I didn’t recognize her…but then my husband called me on the phone and said, ‘look at the news, it’s our neighbor,’” Dhanraj said. “When I saw the video on the news…my heart sank because I knew it was her. I knew right away, and I cried.”

Dhanraj says she had been neighbors with Clayton for 13 years and that the families would invite one another to gatherings at their respective homes.

“She was an excellent human being,” Dhanraj said. “That’s the best way to describe her.”

Orlando Police Chief John Mina took it a step further in his comments to the media that afternoon, calling Clayton “a hero.”

“She grew up here,” Mina said. “She deeply cared about the community and all our different community engagement efforts. …It’s really tragic anytime a police officer is killed in the line of duty. But she was so deeply involved in the community, and it hurts all the more because I know that she was trying to do her part to make this community safer.”

Law-enforcement departments around the area — and, indeed, the nation — joined in echoing Mina’s sentiments. Those sentiments were echoed not just for Clayton, but also for Orange County Deputy First Class Norman Lewis of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, who was killed in an accident while on his motorcycle as he attempted to secure a perimeter during a manhunt for the suspect. 

Local Congresswoman Val Demings, who knew Clayton from her own time with the Orlando Police Department, joined in lamenting her passing in a Facebook post.

“I had the honor of working with Sgt. Debra Clayton for many years at the Orlando Police Department,” read the post. “Sgt. Clayton was a fine law enforcement officer, wife and mother who served her community with pride and was a mentor to young women.”

At press time, the manhunt for suspect Markeith Loyd was still ongoing.

Inspired by their fallen colleague, local law enforcement has promised to persist and bring the accused to justice.

“The loss of our friend and hero to this community only strengthens our resolve to fight for justice,” Mina stated in a social-media post.

Gabby Baquero, Brittany Gaines, Danielle Hendrix, Amy Quesinberry and Steven Ryzewski all contributed to this report.