JACKSONVILLE, Florida -- On a day when law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty were memorialized in front of the U.S. Capitol, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office lost one of its own.
Officer Lance C. Whitaker, 48, was the victim of a single-car crash on Interstate 295 while responding to a wreck in the rain, according to the Sheriff's Office.
The officer, the department's first on-duty death in four years, crashed his police car about 4:30 a.m. down an embankment on northbound I-295 near Alta Drive, according to Sheriff Mike Williams. The patrol car had significant damage.
He called it tragic that an officer trying to help someone else is killed in a crash.
"It's a tough day for JSO and the city overall," Williams said. "If you are going to get hurt in this job, one of the main ways is a traffic crash of some sort. This just reinforces the point we have been talking about for a little bit more than a year now about traffic safety. ... It's another reminder of the risk that the men and women of JSO take on every day."
This was at least the 13th officer-involved wreck this year in Jacksonville, according to Times-Union records.
Mayor Lenny Curry, who had just joined the sheriff Monday to help announce a new summer program for at-risk children and families in Grand Park, responded early Tuesday with his own condolences on Twitter, saying "I mourn."
"Our city mourns," Curry wrote. "Sheriff Williams called me before sunrise as details were unfolding. This is sad/terrible news. Prayers for the family and all the men and women that protect us. Your city stands with you."
Williams said the rainy weather may have been a contributing factor in the crash, which was seen by at least one Florida Highway Patrol unit. The officer was on the midnight shift when the crash occurred and died at the hospital. The Sheriff's Office is investigating the crash, according to the Highway Patrol.
Tuesday also was National Peace Officers Memorial Day, the sheriff noting that a contingent of his officers and the honor guard were in Washington for the ceremonies. Florida has suffered the loss of four law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in the last month. Tuesday also was the memorial for Highlands County Deputy William Gentry, 40, shot May 7 while investigating a dispute between neighbors about a cat that was killed.
A Jacksonville Sheriff's Office tweet showed a shield with a black band across it, saying that on this Police Memorial Day, "the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office lost one of our own in a police vehicle crash. Please keep their family, co-workers, friends, and fellow officers in your prayers."
Memorials have been pouring in from across the state.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott tweeted his condolences Tuesday morning, writing that he and his wife were "heartbroken."
"We ask all Floridians to join us in praying for this officer's family and loved ones during this terribly difficult time," Scott said.
The Highway Patrol posted that troopers "stand with our brothers during this difficult time." Sgt. Dylan Bryan, Jacksonville's Highway Patrol spokesman, also tweeted earlier that he was "in the room when they made the final call of life to my @JSOPIO brother."
"This became one of the hardest days of my life," Bryan wrote. "God bless you brother. Your sacrifice will never be forgotten."
The Jacksonville Beach Police Department had its own memorial day event Tuesday for its fallen officer, tweeting that on "This rainy Tuesday morning, with a heavy heart, we'd like to express our deepest condolences to @JSOPIO, on the loss of our brother in blue."
Flowers already began appearing midday in front of the 10-foot-tall Fallen Officers Memorial Wall in front of the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, some placed there by officers themselves. The names of the 61 officers killed in Jacksonville in the past 178 years are engraved on it, ending with Officer Mark Larson, who died in 2014 from injuries received while on duty some years earlier.
The Sheriff's Office has reported 12 other officer-involved crashes so far this year, not including Tuesday's fatal incident.
Those included a Monday afternoon crash in the 8600 block of New Kings Road with minor injuries, as well as a May 5 incident at Soutel Drive and Gibson Avenue when a marked patrol unit heading to a traffic crash was struck, police said. An officer also was injured in a May 3 crash in the 3100 block of Philips Highway when two police cars hit each other as they responded to a call.
Dan Scanlan: (904) 359-4549
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