BRADENTON, Fla. — Members of the public safety community and the public gathered outside the Manatee County Judicial Center on Thursday morning to honor the county's fallen officers.
The annual Manatee County Law Enforcement Memorial service coincides with National Police Week, with fallen officers being remembered across the country.
The service, hosted by Manatee Lodge 70 Fraternity Order of Police, took place at the site of Manatee County's Law Enforcement Memorial, just steps from the courthouse.
Manatee County has ten officers who have died while on the job:
- Marshal Joe Terry, city of Palmetto, Sept. 21, 1897.
- Deputy Sheriff Edward Matthews, Manatee County, March 6, 1910.
- Officer Steve Bennett, Bradenton Police Department, Feb. 7, 1934.
- Constable Barnie A. Cumbia, Manatee County, Feb. 25, 1934.
- Constable Shirley Dewey Smith, Manatee County, June 4, 1950.
- Officer Carl W. Cox, Bradenton Police Department, August 8, 1970.
- Sgt. John Baxter, Florida Highway Patrol, Oct. 2, 1985.
- Detective Herbert Grimes, Manatee County Sheriff's Office, Nov. 24, 1986.
- Trooper Jeffrey D. Young, Florida Highway Patrol, Aug. 18, 1987.
- Deputy Douglas Clark, Manatee County Sheriff's Office, Aug. 25, 2021.
During a ceremonial roll, each fallen officer's name is called, their department and their "end of watch," or the date they died. As each was called, a member of the honor guard walked alone or accompanied a family member to the plaque bearing that officer's name and placed a red rose.
Clark's wife embraced Manatee County Sheriff's Office Detective Darryl Davis before the locked arms and walked to place a rose for her husband.
"The brotherhood that law enforcement has, it’s very special that they keep them remembered," Karen Clark said.
Clark, the most recent fallen officer in Manatee County, died after contracting COVID while working. A corrections deputy with the sheriff's office since February 2008, Clark last worked overseeing inmates who were part of the jail's road gang unit.
Karen Clark smiled on Thursday as she was greeted by her husband's friends, excited to share a picture of their youngest son. That son, a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputy, is now a field training officer.
"I’m very proud of him, very, very proud. I worry all the time," she said and then laughed before adding, "Sending lots and lots of prayers.”
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