'All of us are safer today because of the sacrifices they made'

Painful memories from the recent murders of three St. Petersburg cops resurfaced Wednesday, as Sgt. Thomas J. Baitinger, Officer David S. Crawford and K-9 Officer Jeffrey A. Yaslowitz were honored at an annual law enforcement memorial in Largo.

The haunting sounds of bagpipes filled the morning air, pierced by the barking orders from an honor guard officer and the crack of rifles in salute to the deceased trio. Later, a pair of buglers blew taps.

The Pinellas County Law Enforcement Memorial Observance was held just outside the County Sheriff's Building in Largo.

An ambulance, its siren wailing, approached the Sheriff's offices during the ceremony. Paramedics silenced the siren as the vehicle rushed by -- an apparent show of solidarity with fellow first responders whose job is to go to emergencies, no matter the risk or danger.

The morning ceremony marked the 24th annual observance, but this memorial had special significance in the tightknit law enforcement community, rekindling memories of the recent police killings.

The three St. Petersburg officers were shot to death in the line of duty, in two separate incidents, in January 2011.

• Baitinger and Yaslowitz were killed by felon Hydra Lacy Jr., who had barricaded himself inside the attic of a St. Petersburg home. Lacy died in a shootout with police trying to rescue the fallen officers.

• Crawford was gunned down when he responded to a late-night report of a suspicious person lurking in a downtown neighborhood. Teenager Nicholas Lindsey has been charged in the shooting death.

The county ceremony was preceded by a city ceremony at St. Petersburg police headquarters; the names of the three were added to a plaque honoring all police officers who have died in the line of duty in the city's history.

The county memorial in Largo was much like the officers' funerals earlier this year, with the same pomp, but on a much smaller scale.

Both Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and St. Petersburg Police Chief Chuck Harmon spoke, with family members and friends of the three fallen officers in attendance.

"They are probably looking down today a little embarrassed," Harmon said. "Losing three [officers] in 30 days was overwhelming."

"This will be a reminder for all of us what they demonstrated every day to keep us safe," Bondi said. "All of us are safer today because of the sacrifices they made."

A color guard raised the American flag to half-staff while two wreaths were placed nearby. The ceremony ended with the reading of every law enforcement officer in Pinellas County who died in the line of duty since 1905.