Mickey Starling
ECB Publishing, Inc.
The Police Unity Tour began in Tallahassee on Monday, May 10 and will continue for four days before concluding their ride at the American Police Hall of Fame, in Titusville, Fla. The tour is made up of roughly 200 bicycle and motorcycle riders from across the southern region of the United States. The purpose of the ride, which began in 1997, is to honor law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty and to raise funds for maintaining the National Law Enforcement Memorial and the National Law Enforcement Museum, both in Washington,. D.C. Over 870 officers have given their lives while serving and protecting others. The tour made its way to Monticello by mid morning, which was especially moving for local residents, many of whom remember the killing of Leon County Sheriff's Office Deputy Chris “Tater” Smith, on November 22, 2014. Smith, who was also a former Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputy, still has relatives living in Jefferson County. On that fateful day in November 2014, Smith had been called to a house fire that was intentionally set to lure officers to the scene. Smith was the first to arrive and was ambushed as soon as he exited his vehicle. He was struck twice by .40 caliber bullets and was mortally wounded. Smith was the first officer in Leon County to die in the line of duty in over 100 years.Smith's brother, Bill, participates each year in the Police Unity Tour as a way of honoring Chris and drawing attention to the ultimate sacrifices that so many law enforcement officers make. Bill learned of the Police Unity Tour while participating in the Tour de Force, which is a similar organization. “It was a longer ride through Florida than we normally do,” said Smith. “We did 357 miles in four days. We didn't have the usual hills to deal with, but we traded that for the heat.” Smith's group, Police Unity Tour Chapter 8, chose to alter their normal path from Virginia to Washington D.C. because of concerns over Covid-19. Their decision to ride in Florida turned out to be a wise one since permits to ride in Washington were not available.
After passing through Jefferson County, the group stopped for lunch and a ceremony in Greenville. They then made their way to Madison, where they stopped at the park across from the Madison County Sheriff's Office (MCSO). The group stopped for a brief ceremony to honor the late Steve Agner, who was a MCSO deputy killed in the line of duty on Wednesday, July 26, 1999. MCSO Sheriff David Harper paid tribute to Agner. “Steve was the ultimate example of service over self,” said Harper. “Steve was a friend and a brother. I was fortunate to see him achieve his goal of becoming a Madison County Deputy Sheriff. Now, he is serving as command staff in Heaven.” Agner was on duty in his patrol car when he was struck from behind by a pickup on the interstate. His car then burst into flames, ultimately causing his death. At the time of the incident, Deputy Agner was following behind a service truck that was hauling a large sign indicating lane closure and signaling for oncoming traffic to switch lanes. The responsible pickup failed to slow down or switch lanes and made impact with the rear end of Agner's patrol car, which at the time, had its emergency lights on and was traveling at a low speed. The State Attorney’s Office did not file charges against the driver of the truck.
After the ceremony was complete, Madison County Sheriff Harper and representatives from the Police Unity Tour stopped by to thank the Agner family for Steve's service to the community. Harper summed up the ceremony well when he concluded by saying, “It is not how they died that made them heroes but how they lived.”
