Portions of three major roadways in Miami-Dade County were renamed Monday to honor fallen Florida Highway Patrol troopers who died in the line of duty.
Troopers gathered at the Troop E headquarters in Northwest Miami-Dade, where portions of the Dolphin Expressway, Interstate 195 and Florida’s Turnpike were renamed to honor troopers Owen Bender, Bradley, Glascock, Elmer Barnett and Alvin Kohler.
Bender, an Auxiliary Captain with the agency, was struck by a vehicle and killed while manning a roadblock along the Julia Tuttle Causeway on September 8th, 1965.
Nearly 12 years later, Trooper Glascock was shot and killed during a traffic stop along a toll booth on the Dolphin Expressway on October 4th, 1977.
The suspect in that case later turned himself in and the incident inspired Florida’s cabinet to buy bullet proof vests for troopers.
Both Barnett and Kohler died the following year when Barnett was struck during a traffic stop by another vehicle on February 14th while Kohler was shot by a teenager while assisting a disabled motorist on September 19th. A tow truck driver at the scene was also shot and killed.
