fwc officer killed

[tallyt]

has anyone heard or got any more info on this? Did she have on a helmet?  Thanks

Funeral information for FWC officer

October 30, 2007
Contact: Officer Jorge Pino, 561-723-1417
Dani Moschella, 772-215-9459

Funeral services for Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Officer Michelle Lawless, who died Saturday in the line of duty, will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 2, at Christ the Rock Community Church, 11000 Stirling Road in Cooper City.

Fellowship will immediately follow at Volunteer Park, 12050 Sunrise Blvd. in Sunrise.

Donations can be made to the Law Enforcement Assistance Foundation (LEAF), P.O. Box 17725, West Palm Beach, FL 33416, in the name of Michelle Lawless.

Members of the media are welcome to attend. Please contact FWC Officer Jorge Pino or public information coordinator Dani Moschella in advance if possible.

For more information on Officer Lawless, visit MyFWC.com/whatsnew/07/statewide/Lawless.htmlFuneral information for FWC officer

October 30, 2007
Contact: Officer Jorge Pino, 561-723-1417
Dani Moschella, 772-215-9459

Funeral services for Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Officer Michelle Lawless, who died Saturday in the line of duty, will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 2, at Christ the Rock Community Church, 11000 Stirling Road in Cooper City.

Fellowship will immediately follow at Volunteer Park, 12050 Sunrise Blvd. in Sunrise.

Donations can be made to the Law Enforcement Assistance Foundation (LEAF), P.O. Box 17725, West Palm Beach, FL 33416, in the name of Michelle Lawless.

Members of the media are welcome to attend. Please contact FWC Officer Jorge Pino or public information coordinator Dani Moschella in advance if possible.

For more information on Officer Lawless, visit MyFWC.com/whatsnew/07/statewide/Lawless.html

[VForcedave]

What happened to her?

[tallyt]

she was killed riding her atv while on patrol in Rotenberger WMA. here is the link,
MyFWC.com/whatsnew/07/statewide/Lawless.html

[TRX450R_Racer]

That's terrible.

I would also like to know if she was wearing a helmet.

[jrpro130]

I was there when this all occured (I didn't see her, but I saw the rescue/engine/life flight, etc)

I may be attending just out of respect for her. 

[Thrumud]

I just heard the news. I think I have met here before in 2004 in Hendry County. Very sad.

[GrizzlyGator]

Terrible news....heres a little more info.



Wildlife officer dies after ATV crash in Everglades
By Macollvie Jean-François | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
October 29, 2007





 
Broward County - An officer with the state wildlife commission died on duty after her all-terrain vehicle crashed in a remote part of the Everglades and pinned her underneath for hours, authorities said Sunday.

Officer Michelle Lawless, 47, of North Miami, was on routine patrol when the crash occurred late Saturday in the Holeyland/Rotenberger Wildlife Management Areas, 30 to 40 miles west of the U.S. 27 toll plaza, agency spokesman Officer Jorge Pino said. She was on patrol for poachers and other vagrants who often target alligators and deer at night, Pino said.

"It's somewhat alarming to see this occur," said Pino, who graduated from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission training academy with Lawless. "She knew that area like the back of her hand."


Her death was the third of a law enforcement officer or firefighter this weekend in South Florida. About 1:30 a.m. Saturday, Boca Raton Police Officer Mark Strange died in a car wreck on Florida's Turnpike after losing control of his pickup truck north of Lake Worth Road. In Miami less than an hour later, Miami Fire Capt. Robert Garcia died when a teenage driver ran a stop light and struck his truck, according to his agency's spokesman, firefighter Ignatius Carroll.

"It's been a terrible weekend for public servants," Carroll said. "We see it in law enforcement and fire all the time, but there's no class or training to teach you how to deal when it's one of your own. It's a very hard idea to try to cope with."

Lawless' death shocked Pino, he said. He and others are still trying to understand what happened to her.

Lawless struck a metal gate and was ejected from her ATV, which overturned and fell on top of her, according to the investigating agency, the Florida Highway Patrol. They got the call about 9:30 p.m.

Pino said they found Lawless about midnight. She last had contact with the wildlife agency's dispatch about 7:20 p.m. while working in the northwest corner of the management area, near the L5 Canal and the Palm Beach County line.

Later in the evening, she did not respond to a routine check of the officers' locations and duties via radio, Pino said. Another officer became concerned and went searching for her. The officer found her ATV, then an unresponsive Lawless.

Efforts to revive her at the scene were unsuccessful. A rescue helicopter took her to Delray Beach Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, FHP said.

Pino said his agency is looking into whether Lawless had her locater locator equipment and other circumstances surrounding the fatal crash.

"Nothing at this time would indicate there is foul play, but that may change," Pino said.

Lawless' career with the commission's Division of Law Enforcement began in May 2003. She has been working in Broward County since.

"Michelle was a diligent, accomplished officer who died doing what she did so well, protecting Florida's natural resources," said Maj. Brett Norton, commander of law enforcement for the region.

"This is a painful loss to the entire agency, her family and friends."

Lawless is survived by her father Tom Lawless and sister April Lawless, Pino said.