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State Honors Fallen Officers

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 6, 2008

Police officers in Florida died in the line of duty at the rate of more than one a month last year.

Monday morning, the names of the 16 officers who perished in 2007 were enshrined on a memorial at the state Capitol.

Gov. Charlie Crist, who attended the ceremony, said, "It was a pretty moving service today ... and obviously important, honoring those who have sacrificed ... their lives for our safety. I just wish it weren't so many."

The good news so far this year is that the trend of increasing deaths has reversed.

However, 2007 was one of the deadliest in recent history.

Among those killed was Hillsborough County sheriff's Sgt. Ron Harrison, shot to death while driving away from a Brandon DUI checkpoint in August. Crist spoke after the ceremony with members of Harrison's family.

The Harrison family also attended a luncheon Thursday in Tampa honoring local law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty.
Recordkeeping began in 1869, when a Jacksonville officer was killed. Since then, 688 of Florida's officers have died in the line of duty.

A News Channel 8 report

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