PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The funeral for Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Zachary Fink Monday brought out hundreds of law enforcement officers from across our region, some of whom found themselves working that tragic scene earlier this month.
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Port St. Lucie Police Chief Richard Del Toro remembers getting the call in the middle of the night on Feb. 2.
"Right from there we knew it was going to be all hands on deck," Del Toro said.
Reports released to WPTV outline the efforts made to save lives after a semi-truck and the vehicle of trooper Zachary Fink collided on Interstate 95.
"The officers were there, trying to get the trooper out of the car, trying to do CPR through the windshield," Del Toro said.
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While three officers worked on Fink, another three tried to revive the driver of the semi-truck, who had been thrown from the vehicle. He later was identified as Arsenio Mas, of Homestead.
Del Toro said after an intense situation like this, the department has critical stress debriefings, and peer-to-peer counseling.
"Important to meet with officers next day. No. 1 because they can’t help anybody unless they’re OK to begin with," the chief said.
Several of the officers on the scene that day went to Fink’s funeral on Monday in Port St. Lucie.
"We’re not robots, we’re human beings. We have the honor and privilege to do this job, uphold the law, serve people. But they get to see a lot of bad things," Del Toro said.
However, one good thing was the teamwork employed that day.
“Although it was a tragedy, it was something I was very proud to see this department and other agencies coming together to capture the suspect," he said.
The chief also plans to institute a new officer wellness program, sometime later this year.
