Page 10 - Florida Sentinel 3-12-21

Feature
TPD Officer Sacrificed Himself To Save Others
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Early Tuesday morning, a 45-year-old Tampa Police officer was killed in a head-on collision. The other driver, who was driving southbound in the northbound lanes of I-275, also died.
According to the Tampa Police Department, Master Patrol Officer Jesse Madsen be- came the 32nd officer to die in the line of duty. He is also the third officer to die in a traffic accident in the last three months.
According to the Tampa Police Department, shortly before 1 a.m., officers were dispatched in- formation about a white vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed, and swerving through the lanes. The vehicle was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes between Sligh Avenue and Hillsborough Avenue, witnesses told police.
Witnesses also told police that MPO Mad- sen had intentionally driven his SUV into the path of the oncoming car to save the lives of oth- ers.
The driver of the other vehicle has been iden- tified as 25-year-old Joshua Montague, of Col- orado. The rented vehicle he was driving was traveling at a high rate of speed at the time of the crash.
The collision took place less than a minute after the information was dispatched, police said. MPO Madsen died at the scene. His body was given a police escort to the Hillsborough
County Medical Examiner’ Office.
MPO Madsen joined the Tampa Police De-
partment 16-1/2 years ago. During his career, he was the recipient of seven (7) Tampa Police De- partment Life-Saving Awards.
Prior to becoming a Tampa Police Officer, MPO Madsen served at two other police de- partments. He was also a U. S. Marines Combat Veteran, and in the U. S. Reserves.
He was married and the father of two sons, ages 12 and 16, and a 10-year-old daughter.
Funeral Services were incomplete at press time.
MPO JESSE MADSEN
Anyone wishing to make a donation in person can submit donations to any Bank of Tampa Branch in MPO Madsen’s name.
Donations by check or money order can be mailed to: RISE Tampa, i/c/o MPO Madsen, P. O. Box 172816, Tampa, FL 33672.
Chief Brian Dugan said MPO Madsen’s badge will be retired. “Jesse was a guardian of this city. He will never be forgotten,” Chief Dugan said.
Mayor Jane Castor said, “This is incredi- bly difficult for our entire community. Together, we mourn the tragic loss of Master Patrol Of- ficer Jesse Madsen, a highly decorated officer who was killed in the line of duty. His years of service and sacrifice are a true testament to his devotion as a husband, father and officer. Our hearts are broken.
“To MPO Madsen's loved ones and the men and women of the Tampa Police Department, may God bless you and keep you. Lost, but never forgotten."
After Student Is Affected, USF Senior
Advisor Realized She Had To Make A Move
Writing papers and at- tending meeting were not enough.
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
After one of her students was affected, a professor at the University of South Florida (Tampa Campus) realized she had to do more than write pa- pers and attend meetings.
Dr. Elizabeth Hordge- Freeman, the current Senior Advisor to the President and Provost for Diversity and In- clusion at the University of South Florida, said she had to say something to bring about change at the Tampa campus. She’s also the Associate Profes- sor in the Department of Soci- ology.
Dr. Hordge-Freeman’s
call to action came about when a Black student in the doctoral program was stopped by a po- lice officer for no apparent rea- son. The student was on the way to her class. At the time, she was a professor of Sociol- ogy.
This all happened after the death of George Floyd, when tensions were high throughout the world.
The student being upset about the incident, bothered her. She sent an email to her colleagues telling them, ‘we need to organize and create some type of letter to talk about what’s happening on the national level and what’s hap- pening locally.’
“We had to sound the alarm to address anti-Black racism and help them learn how to un- derstand the experiences of Black people.” In a few days, she had the response of more than 100 faculty members and students. And, within 24 hours, she received a response from President Steven Cur- rall and Provost Ralph Wilcox. A lengthy Zoom meeting was held, which re- sulted in the current position she holds. That led to a “Report of Interlocking Priorities, which includes training human resources staff to facilitate a more racially equitable hiring process and developing an an- nual speaker series focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion across all USF campuses, she told the school newspaper, Or- acle.
ELIZABETH HORDGE- FREEMAN, Ph.D. ...Senior Advisor to the
President and Provost for Diversity and Inclusion ...Associate Professor, Department of Sociology
Dr. Hordge-Freeman
lets it be known that she may have led the project, but it all came together as a team effort.
The committee has devel- oped the Diversity, Anti- Racism and Equity Dashboard, where administrators are able to monitor data on enrollment and success of minority stu- dents; as well as the anti- racism website which provides a hub for discussions of race at USF.
A Tampa native (West Tampa), who grew up as the middle child of six siblings and around 50 first cousins, she is the wife of McArthur Free- man, a USF Associate Profes- sor of Animation and Digital Modeling, and the mother of 2 children – 9 and 2 years old. She is the daughter of Larry B. Hordge, Sr., and Patricia Lewis Hordge. Dr. Hodge- Freeman and her mother are members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
“There’s not much time for hobbies, but I enjoy spending time with my family, reading, travelling, and watching movies.”
Dr. Hordge-Freeman
studied Spanish at Cornell University and double majored in Biomedical Sciences.
In 2015, she authored “The Color of Love: Racial Fea- tures, Stigma and Socializa- tion in Black Brazilian Families,” and is on the cusp of a second book being published soon. It’s about Black women in Brazil who were informally adopted by wealthy families with no transfer papers.
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