Honoring A Fallen Officer

The Clay County Sheriffs have lost one of their own and yesterday there was a processional for the fallen officer.  Officer Ben Zirbel, a 12 year veteran of the Clay County Sheriff’s Department was killed while on duty after a terrible accident on his motorcycle.  The processional started in Jacksonville, through Orange Park and Middleburg and ended in Green Cove Springs where he was laid to rest for the night.  Today is his funeral.  Jenny and I felt we should attend the processional and we drove over to a spot on Blanding Blvd and Baxley.  We arrived early and we were lucky that there was a nice breeze blowing because it made the 95 degree temperature bearable.  The intersection had several police cars waiting to move into action and block the intersection once the processional arrived.  Once they were in position the officers stood at attention until the processional was through. There were many agencies represented to honor Officer Zirbel and lots of people lined the streets to honor him.  We were glad we did.  Thank you Officer Zirbel for serving; may you Rest In Peace.  To Officer Zirbel’s family and friends I am so sorry for your loss.  It was truly an emotional day.