A tradition started more than 50 years ago by President John F. Kennedy to recognize and remember law enforcement officers has taken off at MacDill Air Force Base.
- Ceremony to kick off National Peace Officer week, honoring those who do double duty as airmen and police officers
- 11 of the 35 law enforcement officers who have been killed in the line of duty in 2016 also served in the military
To kick off National Peace Officer week, the 927th Air Refueling Wing honored local men and women in blue with a special nod to those who do double duty as airmen.
“We are both very important to the community and to the country,” says SSGT. Adam Borgman with the 927th. “We live locally and we serve globally.”
As well as recognizing the efforts and sacrifice of those who currently protect and serve in law enforcement, the ceremony also honored fallen police officers around the country. So far this year, of the 35 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in the U.S., 11 of them also served in the military.
Among those lost was Hillsborough County Deputy Chief John Kotfila, killed in a head-on collision with a wrong way driver on March 15th. His colleague, Hillsborough County Deputy Tyler Payne, also a senior airman with the Air Force, says it’s hard to distinguish which job is harder.
“Both present their own challenges in themselves," said Payne. "Just the day-to-day being a police officer and the deployments and constantly gone with the military they're both equally difficult.”
Pasco County deputy Michael Seeman, who also does double duty as a senior airman, says both jobs “correlate very well."
"Both of them, they take a lot of dedication,” said Seeman.