Tampa, FL — A 6-year-old boy’s recent trip to Tampa’s Fallen Trooper Memorial ended in heartbreak.
Clayton Valdes wanted to see his mother, Trooper Chelsea Richard, among those honored. But Richard’s name was nowhere to be found.
Clayton and his father, Ricardo, also discovered another missing name and a memorial that was in an overall state of disrepair.
Hoping to change that, the two reached out to Tom Berry, director of the Blue Alert Foundation. The nonprofit foundation is dedicated to supporting the families of fallen officers and helping officers obtain need items, such as bulletproof vests.
Now, it’s also dedicated to making sure Tampa’s Fallen Trooper Memorial gets much-needed repairs and those two names added, Berry said.
Richard was killed in the line of duty in May 2014. She was responding to an accident, speaking with a tow truck driver, when she was struck and killed in a secondary accident.
Chelsea Richard was 30. Clayton was only 4 at the time.
The other missing name belongs to Trooper William Dyer. He was on patrol Oct. 18, 2011, when he suffered a medical emergency that caused a single-vehicle crash on Interstate 10 in Leon County. Dyer passed away Dec. 28, 2011.
Making sure those names are engraved at the memorial and the site is cleaned up is now Berry’s mission, he said.
After seeing the memorial, and what wasn’t there, Berry said Clayton told his dad to contact “Tom.”
“He even told me he was sad,” Berry said. “When you have a 6-year-old boy tell his dad to get a hold of Tom,” you have to do something.
And, do something he has.
Berry quickly mobilized a fundraising effort to repair the memorial, which is housed on the grounds of the Florida Highway Patrol’s Tampa Headquarters, 11305 McKinley Drive. He’s also reached out to Lowe’s Home Improvement and Julie Weintraub of the Gold & Diamond Source and Hands Across Tampa Bay. Weintraub’s company and Non-Profit has agreed to match donations to fix the memorial up to $2,000. A Tampa Lowe’s has offered to assist with the landscaping, Berry said.
Berry estimates about $10,000 to $15,000 is needed to make the necessary immediate repairs and to smooth out a wall to serve as an extension to the memorial. The existing memorial, Berry said, has no room for Richard and Dyer’s names. In addition, he’s looking for a sprinkler or landscaping company to estimate repairs on the site’s sprinkler, or donate the work, and is hoping a company will come forward to replace a concrete bench on the site that is so broken rebar is sticking out. The sidewalk surrounding the site also needs repair.
Donations are being accepted on Blue Alert’s website. Companies that wish to help are asked to email Berry at [email protected].
Once repairs and improvements are made, Berry is also looking for a local group to help maintain the memorial going forward, he said. The group that once took care of the site no longer exists, he said.
Just how soon Clayton will be able to visit the memorial and see his mother’s name remains unclear. Berry hopes it will be soon.
Clayton, does, too.
“I was kind of sad, because when you put her name on something it makes it better,” Clayton told WFLA. <-Video
To donate to the memorial repair efforts, visit Blue Alert online. Look for the police badge on the site’s left-hand side and click “Florida’s Fallen Troopers Memorial” to choose where the donation should go.
To reach Berry with offers of corporate support, email [email protected].
Please Help Us to get Clayton's Mom and Trooper Dyer's Name on the Memorial and Repair this Memorial back to it once was, Thank you
