Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

Thank you for your service and please know that your sacrifice will always be remembered. Rest in peace always.

Detective Cpl/3 Steven Rizzo
Delaware State Police (Retired)

July 13, 2020

Rest in peace Patrolman Mathews.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

July 12, 2019

R.I.P. officer your service will never be forgotten

Explorer Chris Boivin
Palm beach gardens

July 30, 2015

Continue to rest in peace Patrolman Mathews, we will never forget....

Deb Azure
Mother of Deputy Renee Danell Azure
EOW 08/06/02
Union County SO, Lake Butler, FL

July 13, 2012

Rest in Peace, Patrolman Mathews. Your sacrifice is not forgotten.

Officer 11169

February 16, 2012

Your heroism and service is honored today, the thirty-first anniversary of your death. Your memory lives and you continue to inspire. Thank you for your service. My cherished son Larry Lasater was a fellow police officer who was murdered in the line of duty on April 24, 2005 while serving as a Pittsburg, CA police officer.

Time never diminishes respect. Your memory will always be honored and revered.

Rest In Peace.

Phyllis Loya

Phyllis Loya
mother of fallen officer Larry Lasater

July 13, 2010

Officer Mathews, so little is known about you and your accident. I truly regret that the past city administrations did not honor you for your sacrifice to the residence of the Gardens. Please know that you are not forgotten and that your memory lives on.
Rest in peace.
234

Res. Sgt. (Ret)
Palm Beach Gardens Police Department

June 22, 2008

"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

December 15, 2007

YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS ARE PROUD OF YOU. YOUR A TRUE HERO!

MOTORCYCLE OFFICER TIM ROMAN
PALM BEACH GARDENS POLICE

September 20, 2007

May you Rest in Peace Sir.

July 13, 2006

Patrolman Mathews,
As one officer wrote in another fallen officer's reflection-"No fallen officer should be without a reflection." I would like to say thank you for your service to the citizens of Palm Beach Gardens.

R.I.P.
Anonymous

June 14, 2005