Thousands of people, including law enforcement officers from numerous agencies, President-elect Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, attended a memorial service this morning for three Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputies who were killed in the line of duty Nov. 21.
The three fallen motorcycle deputies—Corporal Luis Paez, Deputy Ralph “Butch” Waller, and Deputy Ignacio “Dan” Diaz—were working traffic duty and standing on the side of the road with a disabled motorcycle when they were struck by an SUV. Paez and Waller were pronounced dead at a local hospital that day. Diaz was mortally injured and died four days later.
Trump and DeSantis arrived without fanfare, taking their seats on stage behind a slate of bullet-proof glass. Trump stood and saluted as members of PBSO's honor guard carried the coffins of Paez, Waller and Diaz on stage. DeSantis stood with his hands at his side, the Palm Beach Post reports.
Motorcycle officers and members of the Patriot Guard lined the entrance to the South Florida Fairgrounds, silent and saluting as hearses carrying the fallen deputies arrived.
The sound of their approach silenced those gathered at the Amphitheatre. They stood with their hands clasped and watched as a new wave of deputies — some local, others from Georgia, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont — began to fill the unoccupied seats.
Bagpipes heralded their arrival.
Attendees began filling the amphitheater hours before the service began. Despite the chill, few deputies wore jackets over their uniforms. They congregated in seats closest to the stage, forming an uninterrupted sea of green.
PBSO deputies were joined Tuesday by officers from agencies as far away as Maryland. Each wore a thin blue line across their badge, a sign of remembrance for deputies killed in the line of duty.
