Tag Archives: Sheriff’s Office

On April 14, 2024, the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office lost Lieutenant Michael “Hootch” Hoosock to gunfire. He was 37 years old. Behind the rank was a husband, a father of three, and a public servant whose life had been given to protecting others. His death leaves a pain that numbers cannot measure. Sixteen years of service ended in an instant, but the people who loved Michael Hoosock must carry the permanence of… Read more

On December 15, 2024, Charlotte County lost Sergeant Elio Diaz to gunfire during a traffic stop in Charlotte Harbor. He was 40 years old. What began as an encounter in the course of public service ended with a rifle being raised, shots fired, and a life that could never be returned to the people and colleagues who depended on him. Sergeant Diaz was transported to ShorePoint Health Port Charlotte, where he succumbed… Read more

Francisco Paul Flattes was doing work built around responsibility when his life was taken. A Detention Officer with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, he was escorting a federal inmate to a medical appointment when he was shot and mortally wounded. He was 56 years old. The loss is difficult to hold in a sentence. A public servant entered an ordinary duty with the expectation of protecting others, and the duty became fatal.… Read more

Sergeant Terri Jean Sweeting-Mashkow gave 25 years to the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office. On November 21, 2025, that long record of service ended in gunfire while she was carrying out an eviction notice in Vero Beach. She was 47 years old. The loss is difficult to hold in a single sentence. A public servant went to perform a duty that communities depend on, and she did not come home. Another deputy… Read more