Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis attend memorial for Florida sheriff's deputies who died in crash

Julius Whigham II, Palm Beach Post

December 3, 2024 at 1:59 p.m.·2 min read

President-elect Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis were among dignitaries who attended a memorial service in Florida for three Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputies who died last month in a roadside traffic crash.

Trump arrived by motorcade from his estate at Mar-a-Lago while DeSantis arrived from Tallahassee. Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez and Attorney General Ashley Moody also were in attendance. Eric Trump, the president-elect's second-oldest son, sat with his father.

The service began at 11 a.m. with thousands gathering at the iThink Financial Amphitheatre at the South Florida Fairgrounds to pay tribute to PBSO Cpl. Luis Paez, Deputy Ralph "Butch" Waller and Deputy Ignacio "Dan" Diaz.

The three motorcycle deputies suffered fatal injuries the morning of Nov. 21 when they were struck as a Jeep SUV veered and struck the deputies as they waited at the side of the road for a set of jumper cables to start a stalled PBSO motorcycle.

All three belonged to the agency's traffic division. The impact killed Paez and Waller and severely injured Diaz, who died four days after the crash.

Trump and DeSantis arrived for Tuesday's memorial without fanfare, taking their seats on stage behind a slate of bullet-proof glass. Trump stood and saluted as members of PBSO's honor guard carried the coffins of Paez, Waller and Diaz on stage. DeSantis stood with his hands at his side.

A glass partition stands in front of the speakers podium at the iThink Financial Amphitheatre at the South Florida Fairgrounds, where the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office is holding a memorial for three deputies who died in a Nov. 17 crash west of Wellington.

Neither was scheduled to speak. U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, who represents parts of western Palm Beach County, delivered remarks, recalling meeting the deputies at Veterans Day parades and along motorcade routes.

"They were always present, always on watch because it was their calling to protect every person in this community from danger," Mast said. "Even those of us that they barely knew. Nothing could be more selfless."

Staff Writer Hannah Phillips contributed to this report.

Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump attends memorial for Florida sheriff's deputies killed in crash

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