Slain Orlando police lieutenant, fallen Orange County deputy remembered 1 year later

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff's Office hosted several events Tuesday to mark the first anniversary of Orlando police Lt. Debra Clayton and Orange County Deputy First Class Norman Lewis' deaths.

Clayton was shot and killed by Markeith Loyd in the parking lot at Walmart, investigators said. Clayton confronted Loyd after he was on the run for nearly a month after he was accused of shooting his pregnant girlfriend Sade Dixon in December, investigators said.

Lewis, who was on his motorcycle, crashed and died while responding to the scene to search for Loyd, investigators said.

A private ceremony was held at the University of Central Florida's Wayne Densch Center for Student-Athlete Leadership during which Lewis' mother, Norma Lewis, presented a portrait of her son to UCF Athletics.

"We are celebrating Norman's life. The sacrifice that he gave doing the job that he loved to do, and trust me, if he had to do it all over again, he would do it exactly the same way," Norma Lewis said.

Watch Deputy Norman Lewis' mother share about his life below:

Norm Lewis, who graduated from UCF in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice, was an offensive lineman on the Knights football team from 2000 to 2003.

"As big as Norm was, he had a lot of dreams," Norma Lewis said Tuesday. "As he fulfilled them, he added another one to the list."

Following the ceremony, motorcycle officers and deputies embarked on a memorial ride, which passed by Orlando police headquarters, the Sheriff's Office and the locations where Clayton and Norm Lewis died.

"These two individuals embody the type of law enforcement officers that we all could be proud of. Their hearts were bigger than their badges," Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said.

Watch Tuesday's ceremony for Lewis at UCF below:

The procession began at UCF and ended at ICP Orlando, a Pine Hills church where a private memorial service was held.

"I knew Norm Lewis," Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Jane Watrel said. "I expect to see him whenever I see our motorcycle unit, and it's so hard when I see our motorcycle unit and realize he's not there."

A public half-mile walk and dinner was held in Clayton's honor from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Dr. I. Sylvester Hankins Neighborhood Center.

"We are going to have the right celebrations to celebrate her life," Orlando police Deputy Chief Orlando Rolón said. "To celebrate her life how it should be done, in a way to demonstrate how important she was to our community."

Watch more coverage of Tuesday's events on Channel 9 Eyewitness News, beginning at 4 p.m.

Photos: Orange County deputy Norm Lewis

Photos: Orlando police Lt. Debra Clayton

Cox Media Group