BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Hundreds of motorcyclists turned out on Saturday to pay homage to a fallen Brevard County deputy for the annual Deputy Barbara Pill Memorial Ride.
News 6 partner Florida Today reports that Pill, a Brevard County Sheriff’s Office deputy, was shot and killed by Brandon Bradley in 2012 while conducting a traffic stop at the intersection of John Rodes Boulevard and Elena Way in Melbourne. Bradley was sentenced to death in 2014.
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“It’s what we see every day in Brevard County where our community loves us and partners with us and takes cares of us just like we take care of them,” Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said. “It’s no surprise that we see this kind of crowd. Barbara was an amazing lady for our agency, for our community and she will not be forgotten. Our community’s making sure of that, our agency’s making sure of that and today’s just an example of it.”
The ride, held by the Brevard County Public Safety Charity, began at F. Burton Smith Regional Park in Cocoa and traveled west on State Road 520 before turning up Taylor Creek Road in Orange County. From there, it headed north to Ft. Christmas and then looped around and rode a return leg, concluding the trek in the same place where it originated.
Several motorcycle groups were part of the pack that rode in honor of Pill, including the central Florida chapter of the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club, based in Melbourne.
“We are a law enforcement military organization and Barbara Pill was part of Brevard County. And we’re based in Brevard County and so we have a lot of Brevard deputies and so we support whatever the sheriff’s (office) is doing," said Harold “Chi-Town” Moore, with the Buffalo Soldiers.
Moore said the group brought roughly 20 riders to the event.
“It is a gorgeous day for riding. The bikes like it, we like it,” he said.
Ivey said the ride was far from the only event held in her honor as Brevard residents continue to pay their respects more than four years after her passing.
“From the north to the south, you go up north, our Barbara Pill building, which is our north precinct. You see the annual ride, you see the different events that take place,” Ivey said. “A wrestling team down in Palm Bay that honors her every year with a memorial tournament, everybody loved Barbara. That was the reputation that she earned and the love that she had been given by her community.”
Following the event a barbecue was held that included music, raffles and a drawing.