Veteran police officer 'stepped up for the community,' Fort Lauderdale mayor says

Fort Lauderdale police officer Mark Shotwell is in critical but stable condition

FORT LAUDERDALE – Fort Lauderdale police officer Mark Allen Shotwell, who was involved in a fatal shooting, was in critical but stable condition at Broward Health in Fort Lauderdale Friday.

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler said Shotwell "stepped up for the community" when he was injured in a Thursday night shooting at the parking lot of Maguires Hill 16 restaurant, 535 N. Andrews Ave., in Fort Lauderdale.

"He's an outstanding officer [with] a tremendous career with the city of Fort Lauderdale and a guy that has served this city well," Seiler said.

Shotwell is a veteran detective in the department's homicide squad, who has been involved in several high-profile cases. He was off-duty when he shot an unidentified man dead Thursday.

Fort Lauderdale Police gave Shotwell their Officer of the Year award in 2012. Crime Stoppers also honored Shotwell for helping to solve the Oct. 25, 2011 murder of a 22-year-old victim. Fort Lauderdale police made an arrest Jan. 12, 2012. 

Shotwell's involvement in the Novack family case earned him a spot in the crime novel "The Prince of Paradise" by John Glatt.

In 2012, Shotwell was also active in opposing the release of the three men who were convicted of killing a Fort Lauderdale police officer during an armed robbery in 1974.

Fort Lauderdale Police Department and Broward Sheriff's Office were investigating the shooting Friday.