A motorcycle police officer was killed Sunday in Florida while riding in the lead
of President
Barack Obama’s motorcade. Officer
Bruce St. Laurent of the Jupiter, Florida, police department is the third presidential motorcade fatality
since 2006. According to the investigating authorities, St. Laurent was hit on route
I-95 by the driver of a Ford 150 pickup truck. The incident is being treated as a
vehicular homicide. The President, who was on a campaign stop, expressed his “thoughts
and prayers” for the officer’s family.
Presidential motorcades can be a risky business. According to a source in the Metropolitan
Police Department, which handles presidential-level motorcades in DC on a regular
basis, there are many components to executing an escort convoy, and even with the
“extensive training” involved, there are dangers. “It’s not just driving a motorcycle,”
says the source.
In November of 2006, in Honolulu, Hawaii, Officer
Steve Favela was killed while escorting President Bush’s motorcade at Hickam Air Force Base. He
was one of three officers who crashed while taking a bend on a rain-slicked road.
In August of 2007, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Officer
Germaine Casey was killed while accompanying President Bush’s entourage to the airport after a fundraiser
at a point where the road entered an underground parking garage.
On that occasion, a spokesperson for the Albuquerque Police Department said, “Any
time there is a presidential motorcade, the officers—that’s part of their job—they
drive at a high rate of speed.”
Though it was not a presidential motorcade, in February of 2008, a motorcycle officer
was killed in Dallas, Texas, while escorting presidential candidate
Hillary Rodham Clinton to a rally. Officer
Victor Lozada crashed after rounding a curb. Saying she was “heartsick,” Clinton canceled a subsequent
rally scheduled in Fort Worth. “I certainly am grateful for all they do for me, and
more important, what they do for the citizens of cities like Dallas and others across
our country,” Clinton told reporters after the incident.
Another Police Officer Killed in a Presidential Motorcade
A motorcycle police officer was killed Sunday in Florida while riding in the lead
of President
Barack Obama’s motorcade. Officer
Bruce St. Laurent of the Jupiter, Florida, police department is the third presidential motorcade fatality
since 2006. According to the investigating authorities, St. Laurent was hit on route
I-95 by the driver of a Ford 150 pickup truck. The incident is being treated as a
vehicular homicide. The President, who was on a campaign stop, expressed his “thoughts
and prayers” for the officer’s family.
Presidential motorcades can be a risky business. According to a source in the Metropolitan
Police Department, which handles presidential-level motorcades in DC on a regular
basis, there are many components to executing an escort convoy, and even with the
“extensive training” involved, there are dangers. “It’s not just driving a motorcycle,”
says the source.
In November of 2006, in Honolulu, Hawaii, Officer
Steve Favela was killed while escorting President Bush’s motorcade at Hickam Air Force Base. He
was one of three officers who crashed while taking a bend on a rain-slicked road.
In August of 2007, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Officer
Germaine Casey was killed while accompanying President Bush’s entourage to the airport after a fundraiser
at a point where the road entered an underground parking garage.
On that occasion, a spokesperson for the Albuquerque Police Department said, “Any
time there is a presidential motorcade, the officers—that’s part of their job—they
drive at a high rate of speed.”
Though it was not a presidential motorcade, in February of 2008, a motorcycle officer
was killed in Dallas, Texas, while escorting presidential candidate
Hillary Rodham Clinton to a rally. Officer
Victor Lozada crashed after rounding a curb. Saying she was “heartsick,” Clinton canceled a subsequent
rally scheduled in Fort Worth. “I certainly am grateful for all they do for me, and
more important, what they do for the citizens of cities like Dallas and others across
our country,” Clinton told reporters after the incident.
Must-Reads
Take Our Restaurant Survey and You Could Win Dinner at a Mike Isabella Restaurant
10 Fall Festivals Near DC That You Don’t Want to Miss
Washingtonian’s Great Places to Work Application
DC is Getting an All-Male Burlesque Brunch
September 2016: How to Dress in DC
More from News & Politics
Casa Luca Celebrates Third Anniversary With Rooftop Party (And A Flaming Wheel Of Cheese)
Yelpers Have Renamed Dupont Circle the “Dupont Circle Rat Sanctuary”
Hillary Clinton Supporters Had a Good Time Watching the Debate at Trump’s DC Hotel
The Huffington Post’s Eliot Nelson Doesn’t Mind if You Read His Book on the Toilet
Man Stabbed Over Drunk Food in a Crime Most DC
Presidential Debates Aren’t About Style or Substance. They’re About Pressure
Do Women Have to Talk Like Men to Be Taken Seriously? And Should They?
Photos and Scenes From the African American History Museum’s Opening Day
Most Popular
The Best Cheap Restaurants in Washington, DC
100 Very Best Restaurants
9 New Restaurants to Try Now
How One Couple Transformed a Virginia Estate into the Ultimate Southern Lawn Party Wedding
I Was at the Montgomery Mall During the Shooting. This Is What It Was Like Inside.