Protecting The Palm Beaches, A Tribute to Those Who Serve and Sacrifice
Bottom Line: This weekly feature is designed to recognize those who've paid the ultimate price in service and to serve as a reminder of what our police risk to keep us safe. After years of increases in LODs, including multiple record years, thankfully 2023 produced the fewest line-of-duty deaths in the 2000’s. Let’s pray for the improvement to continue this year.
- We lost 123 heroes in the line-of-duty in 2023 including 3 in Florida
- We’ve lost 26 heroes in the line-of-duty in 2024 including 1 in Florida
We’ve lost this hero since the previous update.
- In New Mexico, Patrolman Justin Hare was murdered while responding to a disabled vehicle stranded on the side of a highway. Justin offered to provide the driver of the vehicle with a ride into town to get assistance. The driver produced a gun shooting him multiple times. He shoved Justin into his patrol car and fled the scene in it. The suspect was apprehended by law enforcement two days later. He’s the lead suspect in a recent murder of a paramedic and the car he was driving was stolen by the murdered paramedic. Justin is survived by two children.
As we reflect on those we’ve lost, please remember the families of our fallen as well. The average age is 40, the average tour-of-duty – 10 years. In addition to losing 26 law enforcement professionals in the line-of-duty this year, there are 16 widows and 35 children who’ve lost a parent.