MIDDLEBURG, Fla. — A Clay County Sheriff's Office sergeant who died of COVID-19 in the line of duty will be escorted from the funeral home to the church for his funeral Mass Thursday morning.
CCSO says deputies will escort Sgt. Eric Twisdale from Hardage Giddens Funeral Home on San Jose Boulevard to St. Luke Catholic Church in Middleburg. The funeral begins at 11 a.m.
CCSO provided the following traffic information for road closures throughout the processional:
"Traffic will be shut down southbound on Blanding Boulevard from Interstate 295 to Old Jennings Road on Thursday morning from 10:15 to 10:45 as we escort Sgt. Twisdale to St. Luke Catholic Church in Middleburg."
After the funeral, traffic will be shut down northbound on Blanding Boulevard from Old Jennings Road to I-295 from 12:15 p.m. to 1 as deputies escort Twisdale to the gravesite for a private burial.
Old Jennings Road and Blanding Boulevard will be heavily congested from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., CCSO says.
Twisdale died last week and was escorted to the Riverside funeral home. CCSO, the Clay County Fire Rescue and others including the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office in attendance.
Twisdale's career hallmarks and decades of service include decorations for saving someone from drowning and apprehending murder suspects.
Retired Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler described Twisdale as a friend and leader within the law enforcement agency, and said he wished all officers under his supervision had the same attitude and drive that Sgt. Twisdale did.
“It was a real sense of loss, not only as a professional law enforcement officer in our community, but as a friend,” Beseler said.
Beseler says he had the honor of giving Sgt. Twisdale the Officer of the Year award for valor in 2015.
Twisdale was awarded a medal of valor for catching two murder suspects after a three county car chase.
The law enforcement veteran was also a father and grandfather.