Holding electric blue candles aloft, private citizens joined officers for the annual law enforcement memorial ceremony staged Monday night by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office at the operations center in Bunnell
Holding electric blue candles aloft, private citizens and public officials joined officers for the annual law enforcement memorial ceremony staged Monday night by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office at the sheriff's operations center in Bunnell to honor officers who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving their communities.
The Sheriff's Office Honor Guard and members of the Knights of Columbus opened the ceremony with the presentation of colors and the Coastal Florida Police & Fire Pipes & Drums played as guests settled in their seats inside the Deputy Chuck Sease Training room at the operations center, according to information provided by the Sheriff's Office.
“From the moment they put on their uniforms, they know that at any moment, they may answer a call that puts their life directly in harm’s way,” Sheriff Rick Staly said during the ceremony. “This past year, 135 extraordinary officers answered such a call and made the ultimate sacrifice. These brave men and women went towards danger instead of away from it.”
The ceremony honored all law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty. Staly read the names of the five fallen law enforcement officers from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office: Sheriff Perry Hall, End of Watch, Aug. 21, 1927; Deputy George “Son” Durrance, End of Watch, Aug. 24, 1927; Sheriff Homer Brooks, End of Watch, March 23, 1965; Deputy Charles “Chuck” Sease, End of Watch, July 5, 2003; and Sgt. Francesco “Frankie” Celico, End of Watch, Sept. 9, 2011. Family members who attended came forward to lay a rose at the altar.
Afterwards, Staly announced that he was renaming the Tactical Training and Fitness Center after Brooks and invited everyone to view the unveiling of the new signage on the building. Brooks was elected to three terms as Flagler County sheriff and served from 1957 to 1965, when he was felled by a massive heart attack while leaving the county courthouse in his patrol car shortly after starting his third term.