One day — perhaps sometime in May — visitors arriving at the square near the Historic Pasco County Courthouse will have a chance to pay their respects to Pasco County’s fallen law enforcement officers at a new memorial being built there.
A ceremonial groundbreaking was held on Oct. 27 to mark the special moment, as construction on the permanent monument is set to begin.
“It’s a very exciting day for a lot of us, who have been working on this project for almost 10 years,” said Craig Laporte, who serves on the board of the Pasco County Fallen Law Enforcement Officer Memorial and Benefit Foundation Inc.
Laporte offered a few remarks, along with Tim Hennigan, president of that board. Other board members are Skip Stone, Jeff Gray, Tim Marshall and Scott Humphrey.
Hennigan told those gathered how the project originally started.
“We all know there’s a memorial given by the sheriff’s office every year,” Hennigan said.
One year, it was windy and rainy, and the photos posted to memorialize those lost began to blow away.
Hennigan said his wife encouraged him to put together an organization to pursue the construction of a permanent memorial.
And, he did.
“So, then I got with my good friend Skip Stone, we sat down with an accountant, and here we are today, 9 ½ years later,” Hennigan said.
“We started off very, very small, just, I think, with our own contributions. Along the way, we picked up people to help us out,” he said.
Laporte was one of those people.
Laporte had been a deputy with the Pasco Sheriff’s Office before he became an attorney.
He knew there was a need for law enforcement families to have a chance to relax together, so he and his wife, Arndrea, organized a Family Fun Day for them. At one point, hundreds of law enforcement families attended the event.
Contributions collected to pay for that day always exceeded the cost, so remaining funds would go to the memorial fund, Laporte said. But COVID put the kibosh on the Family Fun Day and, funding for the permanent memorial remained short.
That’s where Pasco County Commissioner Ron Oakley, acting as a private citizen, stepped in.
Oakley and his friend, Randy Blankenship, had seen the fallen law enforcement memorial in Polk County, and Oakley knew about the ongoing effort in Pasco.
He contacted Laporte to find out how much more money was needed and found out the fund was about $100,000 short.
“Randy reached out to his friends and I reached out to some of mine. Within a week and a half, two weeks, Randy and I were able to raise $100,000,” Oakley said.
After that, there were delays in obtaining necessary supplies.
But on the morning of the ceremonial groundbreaking, the sun was shining and the crowd was enthused.
Oakley addressed those gathered, noting the memorial will offer a permanent honor, on the courthouse lawn, near the corner of Seventh Street and Meridian Avenue — in Dade City, Pasco’s county seat.
Besides paying respect for those who paid the ultimate price, the memorial also signals the community’s support for those who are willing to take that daily risk, as they head off to work, Oakley said.
“They never know, when they leave home that day — they may meet that time when they lose their lives in duty,” Oakley said.
When the memorial is completed, Pasco County will join the state’s other 66 counties that already have permanent memorials for their fallen law enforcement officers, Hennigan said.
Oakley said the public tribute is needed in Pasco.
“We need to make sure that we do not forget them,” he said.
Published November 02, 2022
