End of Watch: Tampa Police Officer Jesse Madsen

Tampa Police Officer Jesse Madsen, 45, a highly decorated 16-year veteran of the police force and a combat veteran, was killed in the line of duty by a wrong-way driver on I-275 in Tampa on the morning of March 9. The Master Patrol Officer was responding to a report of a swerving wrong-way driver on I-275 around 1 a.m. when that driver crashed into his patrol vehicle. Both Officer Madsen and the wrong-way driver were killed.

One witness to the wrong-way driver’s swerving around on Interstate 275 that fateful morning told WFLA that she was driving home from work when she saw the crash. The witness, named Chanel, said the other driver was going “really, really fast, the same direction that she was, but he was on the wrong side of the highway.”

She said that Officer Madsen moved his car into the path of the wrong-way driver to protect all the other divers on the road that morning.

“What that officer did, he’s the real hero. He really is,” said Chanel.
Tampa police believe the car heading in the wrong direction was driven by Joshua Daniel Montague, 25, of Golden, Colorado. ~ WFLA

Other witnesses to the tragedy helped support Chanel’s account of Madsen’s heroic actions, leading Police Chief Brian Dugan to say that, “We have reason to believe that he veered into this oncoming car to protect others. That is what we have gathered from some of our witnesses,” according to The Tampa Bay Times.

Following the crash, Madsen’s brothers in blue came together, all joining in a collective salute, as a procession of patrol cars with their emergency lights flashing, escorted the ambulance carrying Madsen’s remains to the Medical Examiner’s Office.

On the day following his death, Tampa’s City Hall and city bridges were lit up in blue to honor the fallen officer. Madsen’s badge number, 507, will be retired and etched into the Fallen Officers Memorial, according to The Tampa Bay Times.

Officer Madsen leaves behind his loving wife, Danyelle and the couple’s two sons, ages 12 and 16, and a 10-year-old daughter.

In 16-and-a-half years with Tampa Police, Officer Madsen earned seven awards for life-saving acts. His final act of service likely saved even more. ~ Fox News

For more on the tragic story, see the videos below.