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| Directors Director Neil Kirkman Remembered |
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"I do solemnly swear: I will support, protect and defend the constitution and government of the United States and of the State of Florida; I will render strict obedience to my superiors in the Florida Highway Patrol, and observe and abide by all orders and regulations prescribed by them for the government and administration of said Patrol; I will always conduct myself soberly, honorably and honestly; I will maintain strict, punctual and constant attention to my duties; I will abstain from all offensive personality or conduct unbecoming a police officer; I will perform my duties fearlessly, impartially and with all due courtesy, and I will well and faithfully perform the duties of a Florida Highway Patrol Officer on which I am now about to enter. So help me God."
"As a member of the Florida Highway Patrol, my fundamental duty is to serve humankind; to safeguard lives and property; to protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation, and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and to respect the Constitutional Rights of all people to liberty, equality and justice.
"I will keep my private life unsullied as an example to all; maintain courageous calm in the face of danger, scorn, or ridicule; develop self-restraint; and be constantly mindful of the welfare of others. Honest in thought and deed in both my personal and official life, I will be exemplary in obeying the laws of the land and the regulations of my department. Whatever I see or hear of a confidential nature or what is confided to me in my official capacity will be kept ever secret unless revelation is necessary in the performance of my duty.
"I will never act officiously or permit personal feelings, prejudices, animosities, or friendships to influence my decisions. With no compromise for crime and with relentless prosecution of criminals, I will enforce the law courteously and appropriately without fear or favor, malice or ill will, never employing unnecessary force or violence, and never accepting gratuities.
"I recognize the badge of my office as a symbol of public faith, and I accept it as a public trust to be held so long as I am true to the ethics of the police service. I will constantly strive to achieve these objections and ideals, dedicating myself before God to my chosen profession . . . law enforcement."
This code of ethics is repeated by every trooper when he or she is sworn in as a member of the Florida Highway Patrol. No one said it would be an easy job. No one said it would be a safe job. But, it is the job we all chose to do.
The Patrol is a working unit; it is also a family unit. When something happens to one of us, it happens to us all. Since the Florida Highway Patrol began in 1939, we have tragically lost 37 troopers to death in the line-of-duty, as of this publication.
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H. Neil Kirkman, Director Department of Public Safety Commander of the Highway Patrol October 1, 1939 - December 1,1940 Director, Division of Florida Highway Patrol October 1, 1945 - August 15, 1969 William (Bill) F. Reid, Director of the Department of Public Safety Commander of the Highway Patrol 1939 - 1940 Jesse J. Gilliam, Director 1941 - 1945 Reid Clifton, Director 1969 - 1972 Colonel James Eldridge Beach 1972 - 1982 Lieutenant Colonel Roger C. Collar Interim Director July 31, 1982 - December 14, 1982 Colonel Bobby R. Burkett 1982 - 1993 Lieutenant Colonel Paul B. Taylor Interim Director February 1 through March 1, 1993 Colonel Ronald H. Grimming 1993 - 1997 Lieutenant Colonel Paul B. Taylor Interim Director December 2, 1997 through March 10, 1998 Colonel Charles C. "Curt" Hall 1998 - 2001 Colonel Christopher A. Knight 2001- Present
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In Honor of those who died in the line-of-duty
Patrolman Luther Daniels - Shot while checking DLs by driver of car who was an escapee from an institution in Miami - December 5, 1941.
Patrolman Leroy Bender - Struck and killed by a motor vehicle while investigating an accident in Seminole County - October 25, 1947.
Trooper Hal Strickland - Killed while in pursuit of speeding vehicle - tried to avoid another vehicle and ran off road. He was ejected from his vehicle in Brevard County - January 8, 1954.
Trooper Edwin J. Gasque - Shot and killed while searching for escaped prisoners in Duval County - October 26, 1961.
Trooper Sherman L. Scott, Jr. - Shot and killed by John H. Jenkins at the border of Duval and Baker Counties - January 3, 1965.
Trooper Joseph Sawtell - Car driven by W. K. Durrance rammed his car in Brevard County - August 5, 1966.
Corporal J. Paul Bertrand - Shot and killed when he stopped a violator on SR 80 in Ft. Myers - December 22, 1967.
Trooper John C. Hagerty - Killed in a plane crash when a jet fighter collided in midair with his aircraft - March 18, 1970.
Trooper Herman Morris - Killed in an accident on Turnpike - March 16, 1972.
Trooper Charles W. Parks - Shot and killed by a person who was suspected of robbing a loan office in Georgia. He was shot in Yulee in Nassau County - February 6, 1973.
Trooper Claude Baker - Shot and killed when he stopped a person for a traffic violation in Venice - November 17, 1973.
Trooper Ronald Smith - Shot and killed by escapee from work release program in Oklahoma. He was shot in Citrus County - December 23, 1973.
Trooper Wilburn A. Kelly- Died of ruptured aneurysm following a patrol car accident in St. Augustine - March 23, 1974.
Trooper Charles E. Campbell - Was kidnapped during routine traffic stop. He was later found shot to death in Georgia with another kidnapped victim - November 16, 1974.
Trooper Kenneth E. Flynt - Killed when he answered the door at home in Apollo Beach - January 1, 1976.
Trooper Phillip A. Black - Shot checking parked car at rest stop. Canadian constable riding with him also shot and killed in Ft. Lauderdale - February 20, 1976.
Trooper Richard D. Howell - Killed in a patrol car crash while in pursuit in Orlando - August 2, 1976.
Trooper Bradley S. Glascock - A driver failed to pay a ten cent toll. Trooper Glascock stopped the vehicle and while on the traffic stop, the trooper was shot and killed in Miami - August 4, 1977.
Trooper Elmer C. Barnett - Struck by a vehicle while talking to a traffic violator in Miami - February 14, 1978.
Trooper Alvin V. Kohler - Shot and killed by a runaway teenager, while assisting a disabled motorist. Tow truck driver killed at same time in Miami - September 19, 1978.
Trooper Robert M. McDermon - Shot while attempting to apprehend an escaped prisoner approximately two miles south of U.S. 90 in the Baldwin area of Duval County - April 11, 1981.
Corporal Cleo Tomlinson - Airplane crash while assisting in search for two suspects wanted for breaking and entering in St. Johns County - July 13, 1981.
Trooper Merle J. Cook - Airplane crash while assisting in search for two suspects wanted for breaking and entering in St. Johns County - July 13, 1981.
Trooper Robert L. Pruitt - Airplane crash while assisting in search for two suspects wanted for breaking and entering in St. Johns County - July 13, 1981.
Trooper Frederick J. Groves, Jr. - Shot on September 15, 1984 during routine traffic stop on the Turnpike. Vehicle was loaded with marijuana and four suspects were subsequently apprehended in Palm Beach County - September 18, 1984.
Trooper Lindell J. Gibbons - Patrol car crash in a pursuit in Collier County - March 23, 1985.
Trooper John C. Baxter, Jr. - Airplane crash while assisting in search for suspect in four armed robberies in Manatee County - October 2, 1985.
Trooper Stephen C. Rouse - Trooper Rouse was responding to a fatal crash when his patrol car crashed and he suffered fatal injuries in Broward County - March 28, 1987.
Trooper Jeffrey D. Young - Shot following an altercation during a routine traffic stop in Manatee County - August 18, 1987.
Trooper Milan D. Hendrix - Patrol car accident involving a log truck while on routine patrol duty in Pensacola - June 1, 1989.
Lieutenant Benedict J. Thomas - Investigating an abandoned vehicle. Struck by a passing car while walking on roadway back to his vehicle in Tampa - June 9, 1989.
Trooper James H. Fulford, Jr. - While he was taking inventory on a vehicle he had just stopped, the car exploded due to a bomb planted in a microwave oven in Monticello - February 1, 1992.
Trooper Kimberly A. Hurd - Conducting a traffic stop on South I-95. While obtaining the driver license of the violator, she was killed when struck by a drunk driver in Ft. Lauderdale - July 16, 1992.
Captain Saxton R. Jones - Killed accidentally while cleaning his service weapon in Tallahassee - May 1, 1995.
Trooper Donald E. Jennings- Struck and killed by a vehicle while assisting with a traffic crash on the Sawgrass Expressway in Sunrise - June 30, 1995.
Trooper Robert G. Smith - While on a traffic stop his patrol car was struck from behind by a drunk driver traveling at an excessive speed in Miami - July 26, 1997.
Trooper James B. Crooks- Shot and killed while attempting to apprehend a subject who had earlier shot and killed two Tampa Police Department Detectives on I-75 in Pasco County - May 19, 1998.
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