| 1 | House Resolution |
| 2 | A resolution honoring the memory of K-9 Officer Roy |
| 3 | Lundell Nelson, Jr. |
| 4 |
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Roy Lundell Nelson, Jr., born May 29, 1969, in |
| 6 | Bartow, Florida, the son of Roy, Sr., and Susan Nelson, |
| 7 | graduated from Lakeland Senior High School in 1988, subsequently |
| 8 | attended Polk Community College and Hillsborough Community Fire |
| 9 | Academy, and in 1993 began his public service career as a part- |
| 10 | time firefighter with the Polk County Fire Department, and |
| 11 | WHEREAS, spurred by a long-time desire to enter law |
| 12 | enforcement, Roy soon enrolled in the Southwest Florida Criminal |
| 13 | Justice Academy in Fort Myers, became a certified police |
| 14 | officer, and in 1998 joined the New Smyrna Beach Police |
| 15 | Department, where, exhibiting a keen interest in narcotics law, |
| 16 | he was assigned in 2003 to the K-9 unit and partnered with K-9 |
| 17 | Caesar, a one-year-old Belgian Malinois, while also serving on |
| 18 | the department's Special Response Team and its Bike Patrol, and |
| 19 | WHEREAS, Officer Nelson died in the line of duty on August |
| 20 | 13, 2005, a superb example of one of "America's finest," as |
| 21 | attested to by the many letters of appreciation received from |
| 22 | the community over the years, by his service commendations |
| 23 | within the department, and by the recounting by colleagues and |
| 24 | citizens of his many acts of kindness, dedication to duty, and |
| 25 | heroism, and |
| 26 | WHEREAS, Officer Nelson is fondly remembered as a real hero |
| 27 | by one New Smyrna Beach couple who wrote of how he dismantled an |
| 28 | automobile engine in order to free two kittens trapped inside; |
| 29 | he was chosen as a member of the presidential detail when |
| 30 | President George W. Bush visited the city in 2002; in 2003 he |
| 31 | arrested Michael Thomas Seibert, one of "America's Most Wanted"; |
| 32 | and, most recently, as one of the officers who rescued a local |
| 33 | disabled person who had fallen from his wheelchair into the |
| 34 | water while fishing, he remained with the man until Emergency |
| 35 | Volunteer Air Corps personnel arrived, and |
| 36 | WHEREAS, Officer Nelson is survived by his wife, Angie |
| 37 | Nelson; two daughters, Samantha Steinmetz and Sabrina Nelson; |
| 38 | his parents, Roy, Sr., and Susan Nelson; a brother, Robert |
| 39 | Nelson; and a sister, Patricia Andress, NOW, THEREFORE, |
| 40 |
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| 41 | Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of |
| 42 | Florida: |
| 43 |
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| 44 | That the House of Representatives honors the memory of K-9 |
| 45 | Officer Roy Lundell Nelson, Jr., and extends its heartfelt |
| 46 | sympathy to his wife, Angie, their children, and his other |
| 47 | family members. |
| 48 | BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be |
| 49 | presented to Angie Nelson as a tangible token of the sentiments |
| 50 | expressed herein. |