Fallen officer ceremony in Charlotte County commemorates those who lost lives in line of duty

Honoring lives lost while making the ultimate sacrifice.

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office spent Tuesday evening remembering their fallen brothers and sisters alongside the fraternal order of police.

The emotional ceremony was held at the William R. Gains Veterans Memorial Park in Port Charlotte.

A red rose in honor of the law enforcement officers who gave their lives in the line of duty both statewide and around the country in 2023, and a pink rose symbolizing officers killed in Charlotte County.

To us, these are just colors, but to family, friends and colleagues of the fallen, they each represent a loved one who will never come home after making the ultimate sacrifice.

“Let us not remember how these men and women died only, but remember how they lived,” said Chief Pamela Smith, Punta Gorda Police Department.

9 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty in Florida in 2023, 137 nationally, and still fresh in everyone’s mind at the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office is the death of Deputy Christopher Taylor, who was hit and killed by a drunk driver in November of 2022. He was just 23 years old.

• READ MORE: Remembering Deputy Christopher Taylor one year after tragic death

“I cried up there today just mentioning his name, so it’s just something that’s still striking home, and we drive past that site every day,” said Deputy Christopher Clifford, CCSO.

Every time Deputy Clifford kisses his wife and children goodbye, he can’t help but wonder if it could be the last time.

“Nothing’s ever guaranteed. You walk out the one day in uniform and may not make it back. That’s my biggest fear at this point,” Clifford said.

Because the sacrifice, he said, is part of the job.

“I think at the end of the day, again, it’s just nothing’s guaranteed. Just spend time with your family at the end of the day as much as you can,” Clifford said.