Fla. Sheriff Unveils Signs Honoring Fallen Deputies

As a child, George Pfeil Jr. would daydream his father was Superman — a normal dad at home who would walk out the door in his Seminole County deputy’s uniform, carrying his gun and nightstick to “fight for truth, justice and the American Way.”

Pfeil Jr. recounted that memory on Tuesday, decades after Pfeil Sr.’s death in the line of duty in 1977. The elder Pfeil and two other deputies who gave their lives were hailed as heroes as Sheriff Dennis Lemma unveiled plaques designating portions of local highways in their honor.

The plaques will be located near where the honorees once worked: Pfeil Sr., 57, along State Road 434 between Interstate 4 and Ronald Reagan Boulevard in Longwood; Deputy James Cleveland Jacobs, 28, killed in 1922, on State Road 419 in Chuluota; and Deputy Robert Moore, 40, killed in 1977, between First and 25th Streets along Highway 17-92 in Sanford.

“We all know that Superman is a fictional character, but I am convinced that every one of you that carries a badge are supermen and superwomen,” Pfeil Jr. told dozens of Seminole County cops who attended the ceremony. “You’re called to do superhuman things — your job is mentally and physically and emotionally demanding — and I’m here to thank you for all you do and let you know how proud we are.”

The memorial signage was long overdue, Lemma said, lauding the three deputies along with three others killed on the job and previously recognized with plaques, known at the agency as “Our VI Heroes.” Following a campaign by Seminole representatives in the Florida Legislature, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the newest memorials into law this year.

Besides Pfeil Jr., Jacobs’ family was represented by Kay Williams, his great-grandniece. “What Cleveland did really means a lot to my family, to know that we came from people like him,” Williams said.

Moore’s family was invited to attend but could not make it.

“It’s because of heroes like this who served before me that attracted me to the profession in the first place,” Lemma said.

In 1922, Jacobs — one of Seminole’s first deputies, hailing from a farming family that mainly grew citrus — was pursuing Percy Baylis, 24, who had stolen another man’s trousers. During the chase, Baylis entered a home and used a shotgun he found to shoot Jacobs in the chest. Baylis was later caught and, reflective of the racial violence of the time, was hidden away in Orange County as a mob looked to lynch him, the Orlando Sentinel reported at the time.

He later was convicted of killing Jacobs, ultimately becoming the only hanging in Seminole’s history.

Moore’s death came decades later while he worked at the Seminole County Jail. In September 1975, he rushed to rescue inmates after 17-year-old Ray McCall, frustrated that his trial for a purse-snatching had been delayed, set fire to a stack of foam mattresses. Along with Moore — who died of smoke inhalation — the blaze killed McCall and nine other inmates.

The fire led to a lawsuit by Moore’s family and the families of those housed in the jail, accusing the Sheriff’s Office and its suppliers of negligence while alleging the Sanford Fire Department did not respond quickly enough. The incident and the subsequent lawsuits forced a reckoning among wardens throughout Florida to improve jail conditions, according to contemporary news accounts.

A year later, the Seminole jail had undergone significant improvements, including installing a fire escape, sprinklers and a smoke detection system. As for Moore, an award for jail deputies was created in his honor.

Pfeil Sr. was killed about two years later, amid a spate of murders in Seminole County. According to news reports, Pfeil, a reserve deputy, stumbled on an armed robbery at a drugstore where he went to fill a prescription. There he faced then-25-year-old Terry Sims, and the two exchanged gunfire, killing Pfeil. At the time, Pfeil Jr. noted to the Sentinel that his family was dedicated to community service.

“Dad, a police officer. A mother and sister are nurses. My brother is in the Navy and I’m in the Army. Just service,” Pfeil Jr. said.

The elder Pfeil’s death sparked a manhunt for Sims, who was arrested in California and extradited back to Florida.

He was eventually convicted of murder and sentenced to death. In June 2000, he became Florida’s first person to be executed by lethal injection.

With Tuesday’s ceremony, Lemma said Jacobs, Moore and Pfeil are the final deputies whose plaques will be placed throughout the county. Speaking to reporters, he said that those currently serving at the Sheriff’s Office “walk in the shadows of giants.”

“This will live on the test of time,” Lemma said. “It will extend beyond us.”

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