Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

Rest in peace, brother

PJN
Cook County IL Sheriff's

December 1, 2007

Thank you for your many years of dedication keeping us safe in the city of Longwood. You will never be forgotten by Law Enforcement or the community.
Our hearts go out to you and your family. Rest in peace

H Gonzalez
Longwood Resident

November 13, 2007

"The Badge"
He starts his shift each day
To respond to calls unknown.
He drives a marked patrol car.
A police officer he is known.
He's paid by the citizens' taxes
To make it safe on the streets.
But he usually has a second job
'Cause a waitress has his salary beat.
Now he doesn't know a holiday
'Cause he works all year round.
And when Thanksgiving and Christmas finally arrive
At his home he cannot be found.
He's cursed and assaulted often,
The one whos blood runs blue.
He seldom ever gets a thanks,
To some he's just a fool.
His friends are always other cops
'Cause people just don't understand
That underneath his badge and gun,
He's just another man.
He knows there might not be a tomorrow
In this world of drugs and crime.
And he gets so mad at the court system
'Cause the crooks don't get any time.
And each day when he leaves for work,
He prays to God above.
Please bring me home after my shift
So I can see the ones I love.
But tonight he stops a speeding car,
He's alone down this ole' highway.
It's just a little traffic infraction.
He does it everyday.
Well, he walks up to the driver's window,
And his badge is shining bright.
He asked the guy for a driver's license,
When a shot rang through the night.
Yes, the bullet hit its mark,
Striking the officer in the chest.
But the Department's budget didn't buy
Each officer a bullet-proof vest.
So he lay on the ground bleeding.
His blood wasn't blue - His blood was red.
And briefly he thought of his loved ones
'Cause in a moment the officer was dead.
In the news they told the story
Of how this officer had died.
And some who listened cared less,
But those who loved him cried.
Well, they buried him in uniform
With his badge pinned on his chest.
He even had his revolver,
He died doing his best.
Written By:
David L. Bell
Sergeant
Richland County Sheriff's Department
Columbia, South Carolina
Used with Special Permission of the Author
Copyright © 1999 - All Rights Reserved
and may not be duplicated without permission

Investigator David L Bell
Richland County Sheriff's Dept., Columbia, SC

November 12, 2007

Karl had a heart of gold. Even after leaving the explorers unit Karl always kept tabs on me to make sure I was out of trouble. Every week my mother would tell me that Karl stopped by and asked about me. He saw the good in mankind. I looked up to him as a father figure. Rest In Peace.

Former Explorer
Longwood

November 2, 2007

I forgot to add something to my last reflection......T.ango F.oxtrot U.niform!!
for those of you that were close to Karl, know what that stands for......he said it all the time for something that he felt was wrong or messed up.

So for everyone out there who knew Karl......T.F.U. on how we loss him so soon in life..no one had a smile like his and no one can make me laugh like him.
rest in peace my friend.

Inv.R.Bruce
Longwood P.D./Friend

October 22, 2007

Karl was a good friend and a great supervisior. On the personal side my wife and I will miss the motorcycle rides, cook outs on the 4th of July and the dinners with Karl and Carol. On the job I will miss a supervisor who always had your back. He will be extremely missed by everyone in CID and we will never be able to replace him.......

inv.R.Bruce
Longwood P.D.

October 22, 2007

All who worked with Karl here at the Long Island Rail Road Police Department spoke only kind words of him. May God watch over his soul.

Lt. Christopher Pontorno
MTA Police Dept. (LIRR PD)

September 9, 2007

The policeman stood and faced God,
Which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining,
just as brightly as his brass.

"Step forward now, policeman.
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To my church have you been true?"

The policeman squared his shoulders and said,
"No lord, I guess I ain't,
because those of us who carry a badge
can't always be a saint."

I've had to work most Sundays,
and at times my talk was rough,
and sometimes I've been violent,
because the streets are awfully tough.

But I never took a penny,
that wasn't mine to keep
though I worked a lot of overtime
when the bills got just too steep.

And I never passed a cry for help,
though at time I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.

I know I don't deserve a place
among the people here.
They never wanted me around
except to calm their fear.

If you've a place for me here, Lord,
It needn't be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't I'll understand.

There was a silence all around the throne
where the saints had often trod.
As the policeman waited quietly,
for the judgment of his god.

"Step forward now, policeman,
you’ve born your burdens well.
Come walk a beat on Heaven's streets,
you’ve done your time in hell"

Your family is in my thoughts and prayers, thank you for your service and dedication to the law enforcement field, its men and women like you that make everyday a better plac to live.

911 Dispatcher
Franklin Park Illinois

August 18, 2007

Sergeant Strohsal, I am very saddend to hear this. You will be in our prayers.

Former Longwood Explorer

August 17, 2007

If you were lucky enough to spend some time with Karl you would have loved him too. I am proud to say he is one of my best friends and I will always consider him as one even though he was taken from us.

This was a tragic loss of a great friend, father, husband, officer and over all a great person. Karl left behind many many impressions on my own life... I thank him for those and his family for sharing those times with my family and myself.

I wish I could be half the friend he was, see the world with a smile as he did, and judge others with the clarity and experience he had learned from. I know he will be here to help us when we least expect it. There is one more angel among us.

Karl would want us all to learn from this. Take that extra second to look around, look out, and always remember to be safe.

Karl will be missed but never forgotten.

Lt. Christopher Luft
Volusia County Fire / Fire-Police

LT. Christopher Luft
Volusia County Fire / Family Friend

August 8, 2007

Thank you for your service.

Ofc. S.L. Coffman #15174
California Highway Patrol

August 3, 2007

May god be with you, your family and co workers. God sped and rest in Peace.

Motor officer Terry Pauley
Plano PD

August 1, 2007

Hero's are not made by how they die but by how they lived. Godspeed and rest in peace.

I am sure you will be standing by the side of our fallen brother Kelly Fredingburg, Say hello for us.

You and your service to your community will never be forgotten

Deputy Steve Polanski
Marion County Sheriff's Office (OR)

July 30, 2007

My deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Sgt. Strohsal. Rest In Peace, Sir....

Ofc. Dornice Dycus
Slidell Police Department

July 30, 2007

I met Karl upon my return from Iraq in February of this year. Though I only spent a week with him attending the same training, I found him to be a decent and honorable man.

Karl my Brother, I can only say THANK YOU for your time on this earth and for the things you did to make it a better place for all. You will NOT be forgotten.

In remembrance of Karl I offer the following poem. It was written by Officer Douglas Adams of the Elkhart Indiana Police Department, who originally dedicated the poem to fallen fellow Officer Cpl. Paul R. Deguch of the South Bend Indiana Police Department.

God bless my family when I am away,
Leave the lights on I'll return from harms way,

Grant me courage and strength to protect others each day,
So they live in peace without worry, fear or dismay,

Bless those who have fallen given their life for another,
May their spirit live on from then and forever,

Return me home to my family at the end of each night,
May I pass through the door before the morning's first light,

Shall I give my life for another before the dawn breaks today,
God bless my family when I am away.


God Bless you Karl.

Respectfully,

Lawrence K. Rice Jr.
Chief Warrant Officer
U.S. Army Retired

"Dubitando ad Veritatem Venimus"
("We arrive at the truth by being skeptical") (Pierre Abélard, Sic et non)

CWO Retired Lawrence Rice
U.S. Army CID

July 30, 2007

To Carol and Family,
My deepest condolences to all of you. Karl's passing could only mean one thing - the Good Lord needs a good cop in heaven for a special detail. I am sure he is up there already waxing up and trying out his angel's wings as we think of him, getting ready to protect uf from above. My heart goes out to you all in his passing.

To his colleagues at Lonbgwood PD
In the eight years I worked with him up in NYC, he was an inspiration, a friend, a mentor, a colleague. Even those he arrested would have a smile on their faces after he spoke with them. I remeber when he told me when he was going to move to Florida. His reason was sound - for his family's benefit. Although we later lost touch a bit, speaking with him occasionally over the years, he was so proud to have served with you there. I would think that he would want you to remember the times he made you laugh and smile - there was no one better than him for that; the common sense he applied to the most trying of circumstances, and most of all, his deep humanity for all he came in contact with. For years, Karl, I, and a couple of other cops car-pooled together to work our steady diet of 4X12's. The laughs we shared are the stories of life - and his life was an example for all of us to follow. He was a proud family man, USN combat Vietnam Veteran (inland riverboats) as well as one of the finest men I'll ever have the privilege of knowing. I know the Officers at Longwood will miss him terribly - so will many others.

Be well My Friend.

Former Sgt. Glenn Azon #217
LIRR PD

July 28, 2007

Sgt. Strohsal,
I would like to say thank you for your service and sacrifice for the citizens of Longwood. And to your family and loved ones, I wish to extend my deepest sympathy.

R.I.P.
Anonymous

Anonymous

July 26, 2007

Rest in peace. Our thoughts and prayers are with your family and friends.

Trooper
Massachusetts State Police

July 26, 2007

GOD Bless you and your family.

Rest In Peace.

Officer Paladino
Colorado Springs PD

July 25, 2007

Rest in peace, Sir! You will never be forgotten.

Police Officer

July 23, 2007

God bless & R.I.P

Ofcr MW Moore 3176
FWPD

July 21, 2007

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE, REST IN PEACE SIR.

N.J. TROOPER
NEW JERSEY STATE POLICE

July 21, 2007

My prayers and thoughts are with Sgt. Strohsal's wife, son, daughter, and grandchildren. President Lincoln, in writing a mother of a fallen soldier, put into words my prayer and thoughts for his family. "I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom."

Chaplain
White County Sheriff's Department, Arkansas

July 20, 2007

R.I.P. Brother in blue

Sgt. Kenneth latour
Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office

July 19, 2007

Sgt. Strohsal we are indebted to you and your family for your service to the law enforcement profession. We are saddened to hear of your tragic passing and you will be in our thoughts and prayers.

To your family we send our blessings, and we send our strength to them while coping with their loss.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of my department,

Officer Matthew Lewek
Menomonee Falls (WI) Police Department

July 19, 2007