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Iorio: Police Memorial Service A Reminder Of Job's Dangers

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By HOWARD ALTMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 9, 2008

TAMPA - Standing on the portable stage set up outside Tampa police headquarters for the department's annual memorial ceremony, Mayor Pam Iorio recalled how at last year's service she had to leave to visit John Armao, an officer shot while serving an arrest warrant.

Armao survived, but his injuries will prevent him from returning to duty.

The annual service, she said, is a stark reminder of the dangers faced by the men and women of law enforcement.

Choking back tears, she talked about riding in the annual police bicycle memorial in Washington, D.C., to honor her driver, Juan Serrano, who was killed by a drunk driver in 2006.

Though there were no Tampa police officers killed in the line of duty in 2007, it was a bloody year nationwide.

One hundred eighty-six officers died in the line of duty. It was the most – with the exception of 2001 – since 1989, according to a national study.

No matter how hard police train and how hard they work, "there is no guarantee that there will be no more names etched onto the wall" honoring fallen officers, Tampa police Chief Steven Hogue said.

Tampa police Officer Victor Guerrero died May 7 in an off-duty motorcycle accident. B.J. Lyons, a Pinellas County bailiff, was shot and wounded Wednesday at the courthouse in St. Petersburg. May 5, Tampa police Officer Tara Edwards was pulled from her burning police car after a head-on collision, saved by Good Samaritan Archie Thomas.

All the incidents, Hogue said, serve as a reminder of how dangerous the job is.

After the ceremony, as the bagpipes went silent and the helicopters flew over and the gun salute was fired, Lara Guerrero, Victor's widow, quietly wept.

Editor Howard Altman can be reached at (813) 259-7629 or haltman@tampatrib.com.

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