Who Will Be Remembered at Heroes Plaza May 15?

Fourteen men and one woman will be rememberd at this year's annual memorial service for fallen officers, including Sgt. Ronald Harrision, a 27-year veteran, who died after he spearheaded an operation on State Road 60 to keep drunken drivers off the streets.

Also on the list is rookie Deputy David Abella, a Plant City High graduate and 26-year-old father of three, who in 2004 died when his patrol car hit a curb and slammed into two utility poles on 50th Street north of Causeway Boulevard.

The May 15 memorial,  in Tampa at Cotanchobee Fort Brooke Park, is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. (see below).

• Attached to this post is the sheriff's office video of the 2012 memorial service, also held at Heroes Plaza in the park.

Abella, in his first year of service, was the first Hillsborough deputy in 17 years to die in the line of duty. His funeral services were at the First Baptist Church of Brandon.

Harrison taught DUI classes throughout the state. A family man nearing retirement, he was killed Aug. 17, 2007, shortly after he left the 7-Eleven on South Kings Avenue, not far from where a sign in his honor stands today, just west of the intersection of Kings Avenue and Lumsden Road.

Harrision, with 27 years of service, was shot to death by a man with a reported 23 arrests on his record.

The list of heroes to remember dates back to 1874, when Deputy Richard Roach, On Aug. 22, was shot and killed as he sat in his chair at his home in the suburbs of Tampa, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. His killing has never been solved.

On July 4, 1983, William E. Whitehurst became the first Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office officer killed in the line of duty. The 23-year-old deputy was said to be "the bravest officer the town town ever had." 

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Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Annual Fallen Heroes Memorial

• The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office has posted bios of the fallen deputies being honored at the May 15 memorial at Heroes Plaza at Cotanchobee Fort Brooke Park in Tampa, next to the Tampa Bay History Center. The address is 601 Old Water Street, Tampa.

• The memorial begins at 7:30 p.m. and the public is invited. 

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Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office's List Of Fallen Deputies
(Source: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. Links to news reports are included in some instances.)

The 1880's Deputy Richard Roach Aug. 22, 1874 Deputy William E. Whitehurst July 4, 1893 The 1930's Deputy Ed Aulick Jan. 24, 1932 The 1940's Deputy Robert M. Suarez Sept. 3, 1944 The 1960's Sgt. Ben P. Wilder Jr. July 22, 1962 Sgt. Donald C. Williams June 12, 1967 Sgt. James Strachinsky Sept. 4, 1969 The 1970's Aux. Sgt. Lee A. Hutchinson July 25, 1970 Deputy James A. Allen May 21, 1974 The 1980's Cpl. Lemon Harvey Dec. 15, 1981 Deputy Frederick T. Clark May 7, 1987 Deputy Donna M. Miller May 8, 1987 The 21st Century Deputy David A. Abella April 21, 2004 Sgt. Ronald Harrison Aug. 15, 2007 Deputy Mark A. Longway Sept. 21, 2010 Source: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office