OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — Three agencies in Osceola County came together Wednesday to host the Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony.


What You Need To Know

  • The Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony honors fallen officers

  • The event covered officers from three agencies in Osceola

  • Families said ceremony was healing, full of love and support

Officer Thomas Bartholomew was among those remembered. Back in 1983, he got called to a domestic-violence issue involving a couple. Bartholomew was shot and killed when trying to pull the hostage to safety.

His daughter, Katie Schouvlin, was just three-years-old at the time and took pride in the honor.

“I love seeing his name everywhere,” Schouvlin said. “Some of his old partners will find me and come up to me and tell me, ‘You look just like your dad,’ and it's so cool that they remember him and I look like my dad.”

Another two officers honored were Sergeant Sam Howard and Officer Matthew Baxter. They were shot and killed while on patrol in Kissimmee in 2017.

Baxter’s wife, Sadia Baxter, said she is grateful and felt love and support at the ceremony and other similar events.

“I think just getting together, loving one another, appreciating your family just gets us through the day,” Sadia Baxter said. “We honor our loved ones that are no longer here with us by just remembering them, loving them, and when we feel sad, we just love on each other and we appreciate every single day. Forgive quickly and love more than ever.”

Line-of-duty deaths within Osceola County

Sheriff Levin Reuben Farmer, Osceola County Sheriff’s Office
End of Watch (EOW): September 28, 1933

Patrolman Thomas Bartholomew, Kissimmee Police Department
EOW: July 18, 1983

Sergeant Doug Parsons, Kissimmee Police Department
EOW: April 27, 1993

Deputy Troy Babin, Osceola County Sheriff’s Office
EOW: November 12, 1994

Detective Mike Ford, St. Cloud Police Department
EOW: June 22, 1996

Lieutenant Roger Haddock, Osceola County Sheriff’s Office
EOW: March 2, 2000

Officer Matthew Baxter, Kissimmee Police Department
EOW: August 18, 2017

Sergeant Richard “Sam” Howard, Kissimmee Police Department
EOW: August 19, 2017

Other deaths within law enforcement (outside of line of duty)

Osceola County Sheriff’s Office
Lieutenant Tony Harris
Deputy Steve Norred
Deputy Tommy Tompkins
Detective Vernon Watson
Sergeant Mike Setvin
Deputy Jack Owens
Deputy Angela McDonald
Deputy William Burnham
Lieutenant David Snyder
Deputy Donald Lee Shearer
Deputy Charles W. Longson
Deputy Luke Rehwoldt

Osceola County Corrections
Officer Jackie Majors
Officer Eulas Jody Talley
Officer Ken Rosenburg
Sergeant James Taussig
Officer Parris Williams
Sergeant Rafael Morales
Officer Christopher White
Officer Michele Coggins-Gibbls

Kissimmee Police Department
Officer Ricardo Dixon

St. Cloud Police Department
Captain L. Boyd Graham