WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A motorcycle
police officer who was part of President Obama's motorcade to a campaign
event in Florida died Sunday after being struck by a pickup truck.
Officer
Bruce St. Laurent, 55, was a 20-year veteran of the Jupiter Police
Department and one of several officers from agencies across Palm Beach
County helping with security for the president's visit.
He
was ahead of the motorcade on Interstate 95 preparing to shut down the
highway when he was hit by the Ford F-150, Palm Beach County Sheriff's
spokeswoman Teri Barbera said. He was taken to nearby St. Mary's Medical
Center and was pronounced dead.
Jupiter Police spokesman Sgt. Scott Pascarella, told The Palm Beach Post he trained St. Laurent when he was a new officer.
"We didn't lose a co-worker. We lost a friend," Pascarella told the newspaper. "He would do anything for anyone."
Barbera said an investigation was ongoing and no charges had yet been filed against the driver.
Obama
was on the second day of a bus tour through the key swing state and
made a campaign appearance Sunday at the Palm Beach County Convention
Center.
White House press secretary Jay Carney
said the president didn't see the accident, but he was notified of the
officer's death and said "our thoughts and prayers are with the
officer's family."
The Post also reported that
St. Laurent had been a motorcycle officer for 18 years and in 2005 he
earned a Distinguished Service Award by the Traffic Safety Committee of
the Palm Beaches.
The newspaper reported that
tn 2001, he was injured when a vehicle he was chasing suddenly stopped
and he rammed into it. The two occupants were later arrested, one on a
charge of driving with a revoked license and the other for having an
outstanding warrant for reckless driving.
Associated Press