‘I learned a lot from her,' said former partner of slain Orlando police sergeant

ORLANDO, Fla. — The former partner of Master Sgt. Debra Clayton said he feels guilty he wasn't there to protect her when she was killed in the line of duty Monday.

"She was one of the best partners I had,” said retired Orlando police Officer Nate Holmes.

Every Friday, he and Clayton ate lunch together.

But this Friday, instead of meeting her for lunch, he’s going to her wake.

Police said Clayton was shot and killed outside a Pine Hills-area Walmart by Markeith Loyd, who was a suspect in the shooting death of his pregnant ex-girlfriend.

Holmes said he and Clayton were partners on the job for four years, until she was promoted.

But even after that, they'd work off-duty details and community service events.

Their families grew close and they too became like family.

"When we started off, you know, obviously I was the senior officer and she was a junior to me, and you would think most junior officers would learn from senior officers, but I learned a lot from her about humility,” said Holmes.

As he clutched a picture they took at an event, he echoed what so many have already said--that Clayton dedicated her life to mentoring kids and serving her community, which is now hurting without her.

“She had a smile that would light up a room," Holmes said.

Holmes also spoke as the man who had her back in danger for years, but wasn't at that Walmart when police said Loyd killed her.

"When that happened Monday, I just (felt) like I should've been there for her,” he said. "I just keep thinking back that I should've been there for her and that sort of deeply hurt me."

Holmes retired from the department and isn't part of the search for his friend's suspected killer.

But through the tears, he sent a message to Loyd.

"Turn yourself in before you hurt someone else,” he said.

Cox Media Group