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  4. Honoring the Fallen: Florida-Based CBP Officer Remembered at Miami-Dade Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Ceremony

Honoring the Fallen: Florida-Based CBP Officer Remembered at Miami-Dade Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Ceremony

Release Date
Thu, 05/12/2016

MIAMI – Imprinted into the Miami-Dade County Police Memorial granite walls are the names of 139 law enforcement officers who have lost their life in the last 35 years.  On May 5th, the name of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Dwight Blackman Jr. was added to those walls during a ceremony which brought together hundreds of law enforcement officers and their families.

 35th annual Miami-Dade Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Ceremony
35th annual Miami-Dade Law
Enforcement Officers Memorial
Ceremony

Law enforcement officers from CBP and from police departments across the county as well as local leaders came together during the ceremony to honor Officer Blackman and those officers who have died in the line of duty.

“We are all in the CBP family and along with Dwight’s family mourn his loss together,” said Port Miami Port Director Dylan DeFrancisci before presenting Officer Blackman’s wife with a posthumous unit citation.

“Law enforcement is a calling and it is a calling to sacrifice,” said Miami-Dade County Association of Chiefs of Police President Kevin Lystad. “Today we honor and remember those who made the final sacrifice.”

The solemn ceremony included just about every traditional rite honoring law enforcement.  It started with a riderless horse signifying a fallen officer proceeded by a wreath presentation and a helicopter fly over.  The names of the men and women who died in the line of duty were read while the red and blue lights of hundreds of police units and motorcycles flashed and bagpipes played.

In Florida, CBP facilitates travel and trade and secures over 1,200 miles of the coastal border. Find out more and get real-time updates at @CBPFlorida on Twitter.

Last Modified: Feb 03, 2021