Members of the community who have had the good fortune of crossing paths with Indian River County Sheriff’s Dep. Teddy Floyd at some point during his 32-year career gathered at LaPorte Farms in Sebastian to bid him a fond farewell during a community retirement party.
Boisterous laughter rang out as well-wishers gathered in small groups to swap Teddy stories, with friends, family members, community leaders and even children all having tales to tell. It was a clear indication that there isn’t any aspect of the community that Floyd hasn’t supported over the past three decades, during which he protected and served local residents and visitors alike.
“I was giving my mom a hard time about getting up for school,” shared one high school student. “So, Teddy told her to call him on the mornings I gave her a hard time. He made sure I got up and went to school.”
“I came here today because of my respect for Teddy. He’s been very good for the community,” said Charlie Pope, Youth Sailing Foundation founder, reflecting on the vast number of lives Floyd has touched and sharing a story about Teddy dealing with a pair of trespassing fishermen.
A mother who waited in the line to give Floyd a hug and a gift said that were it not for him, her children wouldn’t have had Christmas gifts one year, adding: “He is always out there helping people, no matter what they need.”
“Teddy has always been there for me,” said Laura LaPorte, when asked what compelled her to host the retirement party. “No matter what I asked him to do, whether it was bicycles for the kids at Christmas or setting up for the Back to School event, Teddy is always willing to help.”
Chuckling, LaPorte added “and the kids always ask about the dancing cop.”
She noted that Floyd never said ‘no’ when asked to help out, even when it came to riding the mechanical bull or volunteering to take a turn in the dunk tank.
Whether as a football coach or a responding officer, off duty or on, Floyd believed in community policing through example, as became apparent through the stories that were told.
Floyd said that he had initially thought policing was all about arresting people and writing tickets, but soon learned that he could affect real change by “giving hope and making sure our community was safe” by following the counsel of his mother to “never look down on a man unless you’re picking him up.”
He said he considers himself fortunate to have worked and lived in a community where people care and take ownership, and readily admits that he couldn’t have done what he does were it not for his wife’s support.
“I try to be the same officer in every community, whether it’s Black, white, whatever. Right now, if we ever needed to do anything, we need to come together as a community and put all our resources toward making what we call ‘unity in the community,’” added Floyd.
And, he said, while it’s been hard to say goodbye, don’t count him out just yet. After spending some time with his family, he plans to return as a School Resource Officer and continue with his community policing.
So, for Floyd, it’s so long … for now.
Photos by Brenda Ahearn
