PHOTO/Alyson Crean

Key West Police Chief Donie Lee and Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay salute fallen law enforcement officers during the 2013 memorial

Law Enforcement Day to honor slain officers

People all over this country sleep a little easier at night knowing that law enforcement officers are out there keeping us safe. They dedicate their lives worrying about the bad things, the threats, so that our lives can be peaceful and safe. And every year some of them pay the ultimate sacrifice for the ease and the security the rest of us enjoy.

 

On Friday, May 16, the community will have the opportunity to pay tribute to those brave men and women who have fallen in the line of duty. The annual Law Enforcement Day Memorial Service begins at 5:30 p.m. at Bayview Park.

 

Hosted by the Key West Police Department and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the ceremony will include a traditional laying of the wreath, a 21-gun salute, Honor Guards and the Police Pipe and Drum Corp of Florida.

 

Nationally, 105 officers were killed in the line of duty in 2013. In Florida, four officers were killed. Monroe County did not lose an officer in 2013.

 

The names of Keys officers who have died in the line of duty will be read as a special remembrance during the ceremony:

 

MCSO Deputy Frank Adams,

shot in 1901 while attempting to arrest a disorderly man.

 

KWPD Officer Clarence Till,

killed in 1904 with his own gun while handling a disturbance call.

 

MCSO Deputy Guy Bradley,

a Game Warden shot in 1905 by a poacher.

 

KWPD Officer Norman Drew,

killed in 1975 in a motorcycle accident.

 

MCSO Deputy David Cormier,

killed in 1989 in an automobile accident.

 

MCSO Deputy Michael Alexander,

killed in 1998 in an automobile accident.

 

KWPD Detective John Piskator,

died in 2006 as a result of a heart attack.

 

MCSO Deputy Robin Tanner,

killed in 2007 in an automobile accident.

 

MCSO Deputy Nick Pham,

killed in 2008 in an automobile accident.

 

MCSO Deputy Melissa Powers,

killed in 2010 in an automobile accident.

 

 

 

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