JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – At least seven Jacksonville police officers were shot over the last 20 years, two of them fatally.
The last officer killed by gunfire in Jacksonville was Joseph Burtner, who was killed in December 12, 1995, when ambushed by a man with a AK-47 while responding to a report of a suicidal person. Lonnie Miller Sr. was shot and killed six months earlier -- May 6, 1995 -- while assisting another officer on a burglary call.
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Officer Jared Reston survived a gun battle in 2008 with a suspected shoplifter who left the Regency Square Mall. He was shot six times, including once in the face.
That same year, Officer Clifford Sames was shot in the neck in an exchange of gunfire with a person acting suspiciously. Sames was able to leave the hospital the next day.
In April 2014, Officer Andrew Benson was shot in the arm by ex-con Donald Goins. Officer Benson was treated and released.
In June 1999, Officer J.J. Thurne was shot in the hand by Gary Neil. Thurne's police K-9, Quanto, was shot and killed after tackling Neil. Police said Neil had been released from jail after trading ID bands with another inmate, then robbed three fast-food restaurants, before Thurne encountered him. Neil pleaded guilty to shooting Thurne and killing his dog.
Officer Pete Soulis was wounded in October 1997. He was investigating a man who had parked his car in front of a closed gas station on Emerson Street near I-95, when the man began firing at Officer Soulis, hitting him in the arm, leg, and chest. Soulis returned fire, killing the man, 27-year-old Joseph McGrotha. Soulis was released from the hospital within a day of the shooting.
In neighboring Clay County, Detective David White was killed in February 2012 while raiding a suspected meth house in Middleburg.
The last four officers to die on duty in Jacksonville died after traffic crashes.
According to the JSO's Roll Call of Honor memorial page, 60 officers have lost their lives in the line of duty since the department was formed in 1840. Of those, 32 were shot, 1 was stabbed to death and others died as a result of car or motorcycle crashes while on duty.