Political Quotes

“It happened on a Friday night, August 18, that Sergeant Sam Howard and Police Officer Matthew Baxter responded to a report of three suspicious persons around Palmway Street and Cypress Street in Kissimmee. I remember hearing about it. It was unfortunate because a veteran, a marine who lived in our community, had a moment of post-traumatic stress disorder and ambushed these two Kissimmee police officers, killing one nearly instantly and the other only a little over a day later. Officer Matthew Baxter was 27 years old. He grew up in Baltimore and moved to central Florida after high school. He had been with the department for only 3 years. He met his wife, Sadia, a detective of the Kissimmee Police Department, on the job. He left behind his wife and four young children, the youngest under a year old. He was courageous and passionate in his devotion to public service, and he was known as a sharp dresser and as someone with overwhelming confidence. Sergeant Richard ``Sam'' Howard was 36 years old, born and raised in Kissimmee. He served in the Army and fought in Iraq. He was a 10-year veteran of the department and a member of our SWAT team. He left his wife, Billie Jo, and teenage daughter, Unique, behind. My wife and I got to visit his wife's classroom and brought supplies to her students, knowing how difficult it was. He was a family man, hardworking, very optimistic, and quite the fast talker, as we were reminded by everybody during his wake.…”