Author: Mike Simmons
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Attack on America: The 9/11 Tragedy
On September 11, 2001, I was a Pensacola Police sergeant. I was teaching a class as an adjunct instructor at West Florida High School on that Tuesday morning when my wife called and informed me that an airliner had struck one of the towers of the World Trade Center. We turned the television on in […]
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EOW: Sergeant Chip Shackleford
Sergeant “Chip” Shackleford Pensacola Police Department, Florida End of Watch Monday, February 27, 1933 Sergeant Chip Shackleford, 66 years old, died of a head injury that resulted from a fight he had on Sunday evening, January 15, 1933, with a man he had just arrested. The fight occurred on Tarragona Street between Garden and Romana Streets […]
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End of Watch: David Neau
Deputy Sheriff Michael David Neau Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, Florida End of Watch Sunday, September 5, 2021 Deputy Sheriff Michael Neau died one year ago from complications as the result of contracting COVID-19 in the line of duty while working at the Okaloosa County Courthouse, 1940 Lewis Turner Boulevard, Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Deputy Neau had […]
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End of Watch: Constable Clint Rigby
Constable William Clinton Rigby Escambia County District Four Constable’s Office, Florida End of Watch Sunday, September 4, 1955 W. C. Rigby was a legend. Everyone in northern Escambia County, Florida knew him. They knew two things about him. He was always there to help and serve, and he was a strict enforcer of the law. But […]
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The Guy Living in the Crypt
From the book “Stories of Pensacola’s Finest” available at Amazon. It was a Saturday morning. The sun was bright, the weather was comfortable, and the humidity was unusually low – important in the humid climate of Pensacola, Florida. I was a young police officer, riding in my patrol car on the west side of downtown […]
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End of Watch: PPD Detective Archie Bowman
“I’m Tired of Them Police” An excerpt from the book “Stories of Pensacola’s Finest,” available at Amazon. August 19, 1938 was a hot, 91-degree, muggy day. Archie Bowman was a special officer (detective) with the Pensacola Police Department. An investigation led him to 1005 N. Hayne Street, the home of Ben Davis, a known liquor […]
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End of Watch
Detention Deputy Charles Otis Pugh, II Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office End of Watch August 18, 2020 Detention Deputy Charles Pugh died after contracting COVID-19 after it was confirmed that he was exposed by an inmate in the Santa Rosa County Jail. Deputy Pugh had served with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office for five […]
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End of Watch
Deputy Sheriff Thomas G. Blount Walton County Sheriff’s Office, Florida End of Watch Saturday, August 17, 1929 Deputy Blount was shot and killed while conducting a raid with several other deputies on a still in the rural community of Bear Head. When they arrived at the scene, they found the still in operation and several suspects […]
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End of Watch: Officer Edward O’Brien Pursell: August 12, 1944
from the book, “Pensacola’s Finest,” available on Amazon Along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, rivers refuse to rush. There are no jagged rocks for the waters to hustle over, no rapids formed by waters in a hurry to get somewhere. Instead, they meander, like the lifestyle. They wander through woodlands, towns and even […]
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Pensacola Police Gold Medal of Valor x3
It was unusual. That neighborhood – off Scenic Highway – was normally very quiet. But not on that day 23 years ago. On August 1, 1999, at 9:04 PM, a call was dispatched about shots being fired there. Kenny Willis, Stew Melton, E. J. Caddell, Kristen Brown and Leon Martin headed that way. Most such […]