A brotherhood in mourning: Sergeant Elio Diaz’s legacy lives on

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Deputies and police officers know the danger they face the moment they put on that badge and step out the door.

And every time, their loved ones fear the worst could happen in the line of duty on any given day.

WINK News anchor Annette Montgomery spoke with a member of the Fallen Officers Foundation who worked closely with Charlotte County after Hurricane Ian.

We know law enforcement is referred to as a brotherhood, so it doesn’t matter if they ever spoke with Sergeant Elio Diaz.

For members of law enforcement, it’s like losing a brother. We spoke with law enforcement in one county who knows what it’s like to lose their siblings — as they’re still mourning the loss of 3 just last month.

Social media posts, created by law enforcement agencies from all over, honoring Sergeant Elio Diaz’s ultimate sacrifice, are proof you didn’t have to serve with him to feel this loss.

Just talk to Alex Young with the Palm Beach County Fallen Officers Foundation as their county continues to grieve the three deputies who died in the line of duty just a few weeks ago.

“If you knew that deputy or that police officer or state trooper or not, like everybody is very emotional, and it’s just a very tough, tough time,” said Young. “Whenever you hear of another law enforcement officer falling, it hits home. So especially having lost the three Palm Beach County deputies recently and now one in Charlotte County, it just hits home because it’s Florida.”

We hear the rank, the department, and the name Sergeant Elio Diaz, but the posts from loved ones are proof these members of law enforcement have a far greater title to the ones they love: father, son, husband.

“Being a law enforcement family or spouse just takes a strong-willed person, you know, to endure that, especially in a marriage or anything for that matter,” said Young.

For Young, this loss is one he has a personal connection to after being deployed to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office in 2022 to help after Hurricane Ian.

“I got to meet a lot of those guys…actually, whenever I heard the news today, I actually reached out to some of them and, you know, sent my best wishes to him,” he said.

Sergeant Diaz was a father of four and a loving husband. As the sheriff said on Sunday, he will be missed.

His growing memorial is a testament to the life he lived as a member of our local law enforcement.

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