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 30 heroes in the line-of-duty in 2024 including 1 in Florida
We’ve lost these heroes since the previous update.
- In Illinois, Deputy Christina Musil was killed when her patrol car was struck by a commercial vehicle while she was parked on the side of a road. An Army National Guard veteran, she’s survived by three children.
- In Puerto Rico, Agent Eliezer Ramos-Velez (pictured) was murdered while in pursuit of suspects randomly firing at passing cars along a highway. The suspects are at large. Eliezer is survived by his son.
- In Arizona, Officer Adam Buckner was killed in a crash while responding to an emergency call. He’s survived by his wife.
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 – 10 years. In addition to losing 30 law enforcement professionals in the line-of-duty this year, there are 18 widows and 41 children who’ve lost a parent.