BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Monitor Editor
GREEN COVE SPRINGS— Clay County officials honored 12 officers who died in the line of duty including three lost to COVID-19, during a May 5 ceremony at Spring Park.
The names of Deputy Clint Seagle, Sheriff’s Sgt. Eric Twisdale and Green Cove Springs Police Chief Derek Asdot were added to the other nine names of fallen officers.
Clay County Board of County Commissioners Chair Wayne Bolla and Green Cove Springs Mayor Ed Gaw read proclamations from their jurisdictions honoring law enforcement officers.
Sheriff’s Chaplain Tim Martin delivered the keynote message. Emcee Mary Justino said Martin also served in the agency as a captain, patrol sergeant and lieutenant, homicide and major crimes detective, SWAT sniper, hostage negotiator, pilot, staff services director and public information officer.
A calling
Martin, who is also a minister, said the ministry and law enforcement are similar.
“There’s a calling to the gospel ministry,” he said. “There is a calling to law enforcement. It’s just not a job; it’s just not a profession; it’s not something that you just want to do. This is a calling that’s not performed from a sense of arrogance or power but strictly from a sense of duty. It’s always been that way and it’s that way today.”
Martin added that 2021 saw the most line-of-duty deaths since 1930 with 450 law enforcement officers making the ultimate sacrifice.
“And the continued danger of COVID was ever present with 301 COVID deaths,” he said of 2021, “an increase of 65% over 2020.”
Martin added that the three Clay County men lost during the pandemic did not shy away from their duties to protect themselves.
“True to their calling these heroes didn’t shy away from contact from those that they were assisting, or they were investigating, or they were arresting,” he said. “They leaned further into their calling without regard for their own safety. They leaned into it to ensure that the job was done, and it was done correctly.”
Martin told the family members of the fallen officers that their loved ones will never be forgotten.
He also told the law enforcement officers in the audience to cherish their loved ones, and to not put the calling of law enforcement above their commitments to their families.
“Never forget that every kiss from your spouse, every hug from your child, every visit from your parents means a little bit more each and every day,” he said.
Martin recalled that in 1982, as a major crimes detective, he investigated five infant deaths over a six-month period, following the birth of his own son.
“Each time my day concluded, or my night concluded, I would go home, and I would take him from his crib and he and I would just rock together,” Martin recalled.
The chaplain also told officers to resist giving in or striking back because of the vocal few who disdain the law enforcement calling.
“Try not to be vengeful or bitter, but simply trust and allow your word to be true,” he said. “May you forever cover your pride with pride, the shield or the star that you wear
and honor your fallen brothers and sisters with pride, integrity and honor that your calling demands.”
Roll call
At the conclusion of the ceremony, Clay Sheriff’s Director and Bradford County resident David Barnes read the roll call of the 12 fallen officers.
Chief Derek Asdot, Green Cove Springs Police Department, died on Sept. 28, 2021, from COVID-19.
Deputy Clint Robin Seagle, Clay County Sheriff’s Office, died on Sunday, August 29, 2021, from COVID19.
Sergeant Eric John Twisdale, Clay County Sheriff’s Office, died on Sept. 16, 2020, from COVID-19.
Deputy Benjamin LeMont Zirbel, Clay County Sheriff’s Office, died on Aug. 21, 2018, from a motorcycle crash.
Detective David Adam White, Clay County Sheriff’s Office, died on Feb. 16, 2012, from gunfire while conducting a drug investigation.
Sergeant Kenneth Eddie Hayes, Clay County Sheriff’s Office, died on May 26, 2002, as a result of a heart attack.
Deputy Wilson Walker, Clay County Sheriff’s Office, died on Dec. 17, 1994, as a result of medical complications caused by materials used during his work as an evidence technician.
Auxiliary Deputy Arthur Burton Caton Sr., Clay County Sheriff’s Office, died on July 15, 1979, from a heart attack while working a traffic detail in Orange Park.
Sergeant Richard Miles Watkins,
Clay County Sheriff’s Office, died on May 3, 1976, from an automobile crash while he was following an ambulance to a hospital after responding to an attempted suicide.
Sheriff Theodore Shelton Cherry, Clay County Sheriff’s Office, died on July 6, 1913, from gunfire while he was interviewing a suspect.
Sheriff Charles Wilson, Clay County Sheriff’s Office, died on July 10, 1906, from gunfire while attempting to arrest a suspect on a train.
Sheriff Joseph A. Peeler, Clay County Sheriff’s Office, died on May 10, 1894, from gunfire while trying to stop an argument between two men at a train station.
