Two Treasure Coast Officers Among Florida's Fallen Honored Friday

A St. Lucie County sheriff's deputy and an Indian River County sheriff's deputy are among 10 Florida law enforcement officers whose names will be read aloud in Washington, D.C., on Friday as the nation observes Peace Officers Memorial Day.

Deputy Alan Reffsin of the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office reached end of watch on Jan. 31, 2023. Deputy Terri Sweeting-Mashkow of the Indian River County Sheriff's Office reached end of watch on Nov. 21, 2025. Both are included in the Fraternal Order of Police's 2026 national roll call of heroes — a roster that names 363 officers whose deaths in the line of duty were formally added this year to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington.

Flags at every public building, military installation, and government vessel across the United States will fly at half-staff Friday, May 15, by order of President Trump. The directive, issued in a proclamation May 11, covers the White House, all federal grounds, and public buildings from the Treasure Coast to the Florida Panhandle.

May 15 is Peace Officers Memorial Day, a designation signed into law by President Kennedy under Public Law 87-726 in 1962. The day falls at the close of National Police Week, which runs May 10 through May 16.

The 363 officers added to the memorial this year include 109 killed during 2025 and an additional 254 whose deaths in the line of duty had been lost to history until now. The memorial on the National Mall now carries 24,775 names, honoring officers who died between 1850 and 2025, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund reports.

A candlelight vigil was held on the National Mall Tuesday evening. A formal memorial service is scheduled for Friday on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol, followed by a Stand Watch for the Fallen running noon to midnight — honor guard teams standing in 15-minute shifts over memorial wreaths placed during the Fraternal Order of Police ceremony.

Residents who fly the American flag at their homes are reminded that proper half-staff protocol requires raising the flag briskly to the top of the pole first, then lowering it slowly to the half-staff position. The flag should be returned to full staff before being lowered at day's end, the U.S. Flag Code states.

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