December 2022 Mission Moment
Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, Florida
Deputy Christopher Taylor
On November 22, 2022, Deputy Christopher Taylor was struck and killed by a drunk driver while conducting a traffic stop on I-75, south of US-17, at about 8:45 pm.
He was standing on the shoulder of the highway with the person he had stopped when the driver of an approaching vehicle lost control of her car and struck Deputy Taylor's patrol car. The patrol car was pushed into Deputy Taylor and the person he had stopped.
Deputy Taylor was transported to ShorePoint Health where he succumbed to his injuries. The other person who was struck suffered minor injuries.
The woman who struck Deputy Taylor had just completed probation for a prior DUI charge. She was arrested and charged with DUI manslaughter.
Deputy Taylor had served with the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office for 15 months. He is survived by his parents and fiancée.
Guest Author: Alex Otte
MADD National President Alex Otte Completes Her Term and Thanks Law Enforcement for the Life Saving Work They Do
As my time as MADD’s National President comes to a close at the end of this month, I am grateful for the opportunity to share a few words with the law enforcement community through MADD’s newsletter. I have a dual perspective to share, I am a victim of a violent crime that has led me to have significant contact with law enforcement throughout my life, and I am married to a police officer. When I say thank you and that I understand the work that you do, it is because I live alongside of it every single day.
I understand the challenges that you face, and how difficult it may be to continue to take drunk and drugged drivers off the road and off the water, only to see them go out and do it again because the justice system does not always treat drunk and drugged driving like the dangerous and deadly crime that it is. Even when it’s frustrating, please know that every moment a drunk or drugged driver spends off the road or off the water is a moment that might have saved someone’s life. You can never imagine the lives that people will lead because you were there, to stop the crash from happening by removing an impaired driver from the road or waterway or to help them pick up the pieces after their life has been irrevocably changed because of one person’s decision to drive under the influence, but I can. Your vigilance has helped prevent more stories like mine and you have been the helping hand and the shoulder to cry on for so many when they need you most. Thank you.
As individuals in a profession faced with so much tragedy, and so many roadblocks, it is important to remember the reason why your work is so important. As a result of the newest estimates from first quarter 2022, we know that more than 1,000 people are being killed every month by drunk drivers and more than 25,000 people are injured every month. Each one of these numbers represent a person. People with lives and families and hopes and dreams for the future that they didn’t get to live because of someone’s choice to drink and drive, entire communities and everyone who loves them, are impacted.
Your diligence, and your decision to continue doing the difficult work of removing impaired drivers from our roads and waterways, prevents my story and stories like mine from becoming someone else’s story. Thank you for your continued dedication.
Our choices are the first line of defense against drunk and drugged drivers, but you are the safety net that keeps people who have made the wrong decision from devastating a family or a community.
The holidays are a time every year when we see increased incidents of drunk and drugged driving and a statistically higher number of deaths and injuries. It is also the time of year when these losses are felt the most. While you are out there working to ensure no one else is taken away from their families and friends this Christmas or left to spend the holiday in a hospital away from home, we know that you and your family are making sacrifices while you’re away. Thank you, to you and your loved ones, for making this sacrifice, day in and day out, to protect your communities from drunk and drugged drivers and other violent crimes, to ensure we all get to go home safely.
As my time with you comes to an end, I want to close by thanking you. Thank you for everything you do. Thank you to so many of you for giving me the opportunity to know you, visit and interact with those in your agency, and joining with me and victims and survivors across the country as we fight for a day when there will be no more victims.
MADD proudly recognizes Deputy Brad Elmer of the Cassia County Sheriff’s Office as our Officer of the Month for December 2022. Deputy Elmer joined the Cassia County Sheriff’s Office in 2015. He has a passion for traffic safety and impaired driving enforcement.
Deputy Brad Elmer has always been passionate about law enforcement. He served honorably in the United States Army as a transportation operator. Elmer returned home in 2010 after serving a yearlong deployment in Iraq. He has been with the Cassia County Sheriff’s Office for seven years and is currently Sr. Deputy.
Deputy Elmer has always been passionate about driving safely and taking impaired drivers off the road. So much so that he chose the truck stripes logo on his vehicle to represent MADD. Because of his years of patrol, a vast majority of arrests involved impaired drivers, and his witness of the pain of families impacted by drunk drivers; he wants to see a world of No More Victims. He is the first law enforcement officer in the state of Idaho to place the MADD logo on their patrol vehicle.
MADD Idaho is honored and grateful that he is not only keeping our roads safe from impaired drivers, but also bringing awareness of MADD to the community he serves. We appreciate his partnership in saving lives.
Deputy Elmer is married to his wife, Kasey, also a veteran. They have four children and enjoy spending time fishing and hunting.
MADD National is proud to recognize Deputy Brad Elmer as the December 2022 Officer of the Month. We thank him for his dedicated service to the citizens of Cassia County and the State of Idaho. We wish him the best in safety and wellness in the remaining years of his career and service.
Thank you to Castula Florke, Victim Services Specialist, and Miren Aburusa, Program Manager, from the MADD Idaho State Office, for their nomination of Deputy Elmer for this recognition.
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For a complete listing of Officers lost in the line of duty, please visit: www.odmp.org