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 49 heroes in the line-of-duty in 2024 including 1 in Florida
We’ve lost these heroes since the previous update.
- In Oklahoma, Investigator Brian Herbert died of injuries sustained during a training exercise. An Army Veteran, he’s survived by his wife.
- In California, Deputy Alfredo Flores died due to injuries sustained during a training exercise. He’s survived by his wife and two children.
- In California, Officer Jordan Wingate was killed in a crash while responding to an emergency call.
- In Idaho, Deputy Tobin Bolter was murdered while conducting a traffic stop. He was fired upon while approaching the vehicle he’d pulled over. The suspect was killed in a subsequent shootout with responding officers a short time later.
- In Chicago, Officer Luis Huesca (pictured) was targeted and murdered while returning home from his shift. The suspects shot Luis and stole his service gun, badge and police vehicle. The suspects are still at large.
- In Texas, Investigator John Coddou III was struck and killed while processing a crash scene. An Army veteran, he’s survived by his wife.
- In Texas, Officer Kyle Hicks was murdered while responding to a domestic disturbance call. Upon arriving on the scene, a suspect confronted Kyle shooting him. Another responding officer returned fire killing the suspect. He’s survived by his wife and four children.
As we reflect on those we’ve lost, please remember the families of our fallen as well. The average age is 39, the average tour-of-duty – 11 years. In addition to losing 49 law enforcement professionals in the line-of-duty this year, there are 27 widows and 58 children who’ve lost a parent.