SWEETWATER, Fla. – More than three decades after the death of Sweetwater Police Officer James Mathis Beasley Jr., the city officially honored its only officer killed in the line of duty during a memorial ceremony Thursday at Vista Memorial Gardens in Miami Lakes.
The tribute coincided with National Peace Officers Memorial Day, with flags across Florida flying at half-staff by order of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Authorities said Beasley, 44, was killed on June 25, 1986, when he was intentionally struck by Miguel Ernesto Lingren, who was driving a stolen vehicle as Beasley attempted to set up a roadblock.
They said Lingren was an escapee who was being pursued by deputies from another county.
Beasley was survived by his wife, four children, parents and sister. His wife died in 2007 and is buried beside him.
Chief Sergio Diez, who was recently appointed to lead the Sweetwater Police Department, said he was moved to action after learning the department had never held a graveside memorial for Beasley.
“We had an officer who was struck by a fleeing felon in 1986,” Diez said. “Officer Beasley is the only officer who was ever killed in the line of duty for Sweetwater’s Police Department so it is very important to me to honor him.”
The memorial drew Beasley’s three surviving daughters — Laura Currier, Kelly Hepler and Tracy Wilson — who traveled from different parts of the state to attend. Their brother, James Mathis Beasley III, was unable to attend due to work obligations.
“I am a little emotional because I have friends buried here that were killed in the line of duty,” Diez said. “So I take it very, very serious and one of my first acts as a chief was to contact the family.”
At the ceremony, Diez also announced Beasley had been posthumously promoted.
“We are also promoting him internally to sergeant,” Diez said. “Here we are showing the past — this would have been what he was wearing when he was killed in the line of duty — and this is now, our new patch, and today we have promoted him to sergeant. I even made him an ID, so I will be giving the families an ID too.”
The promotion was met with emotion from Beasley’s daughters.
“That is amazing and I can’t wait to have a one-on-one with my dad and tell him that he finally got sergeant. He would be so excited and flabbergasted that he finally made sergeant after all these years,” Wilson said.
She said the ceremony stirred painful yet important memories.
“It brought back a lot of memories of that awful day, but it is okay to go back, it is okay to remember, it is okay to feel those feelings,” Wilson added. “It actually feels kind of nice to remember that day and go back. And as awful and as hard as it was, it’s good to remember.”
Hepler said the family always admired their father’s dedication to law enforcement.
“He was definitely a family man and he didn’t want to leave my mom with very young kids, so he waited until we were much older before he pursued being a city police officer,” she said. “So when he became an officer we all were very thrilled and excited for him because we knew that is what he always wanted to do.”
The family also reflected on their bond and the significance of being together again for the ceremony.
“We don’t get to see each other all the time. We are a very close family, but we live in different cities,” Hepler said. “So us getting together today prior to coming here, we did our own reminiscing about what we remember, so it was really nice to do that.”
Laura Currier offered her thanks to the SPD for ensuring her father’s sacrifice is remembered.
“I want to thank all of you from Sweetwater for doing everything you have done to bring back these memories,” Currier said. “He got his dream. He always wanted to be a police officer.”
Diez said his message to the family was simple and heartfelt: “Officer Beasley will never be forgotten.”
