Crime & Safety
Photo Gallery: Pinellas County Law Enforcement Memorial Service
The 25th annual event honored the 24 law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty in Pinellas County since 1905.
The 25th Annual Pinellas County Law Enforcement Memorial Service honored fallen officers in Memorial Park near the in Largo Wednesday.
On busy Ulmerton Road, the air was filled with the names of the 24 who gave up their lives serving the community, the haunting sound of bag pipes and a solemn pair of buglers playing Taps.
The law enforcement honor guard raised the flag and placed a wreath in front of the memorial stone.
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One new name was etched in the stone this year. Although Tarpon Springs Police Officer Everett Blewfield died in 1926, his sacrifice was only recently discovered, said Tarpon Springs Police Chief Robert Kochen.
Kochen shared Blewfield's story. On Aug. 16, 1926 Blewfield had been on the job only a week, when he responded to a suspicious persons call. A couple of women were apparently waiting in a car behind a grocery store on Stafford Avenue. When Blewfield arrived two men emerged with checks and money from the store safe. The men shot Blewfield, who died at the scene, Kochen said.
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In addition to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, many local law enforcement agencies and cities were represented including: Belleair, Clearwater, Dunedin, Gulfport, Largo, St. Pete Beach, St. Petersburg and Tarpon Springs.
