Roll of Honor

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Sergeant

Joseph Ossman

Florida Department of Corrections — Tallahassee, FL

Veteran → Accident

End of Watch September 10, 2017

Age 53

Tour of Duty 21 yrs

The Vigil Panel 167 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Military Department 32

Incident

Sergeant Joseph Ossman and Deputy Sheriff Julie Bridges, of the Hardee County Sheriff's Office, were killed in a vehicle crash at the intersection of Route 66 and Old Crewsville Road, in Zolfo Springs, at approximately 6:45 am.

Both officers had been required to stay in the county despite mandatory evacuations due to Hurricane Irma. Deputy Bridges was picking up supplies for a hurricane shelter when her patrol car collided head-on with Sergeant Ossman's vehicle. Sergeant Ossman was reporting for his shift at the Hardee Correctional Institution, which remained opened despite the evacuation.

Sergeant Ossman had served with the Florida Department of Corrections for 21 years and was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran.

Survivors

He was survived by his son, step-son, brother and two sisters.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-FL-BF3313EC
Stewardship: Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw: August 2, 2026
Last updated: August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Also honored at salute.nw — U.S. Marine Corps. One record, 2 gates. Joseph is one person.

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Tributes

I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Sergeant Ossman gave the Florida Department of Corrections 21 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of Florida. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Department Florida Department of Corrections

Type Corrections

Location Tallahassee, FL

Platform Identity fdcorr.leon.fl.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch September 10, 2017

Tour of Duty 21 yrs

Age 53

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Military Service

Joseph Ossman served in the U.S. Marine Corps before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

Sergeant Joseph Ossman is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In FL, 313 of 1,008 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.1% of this state's fallen. That is 31.1 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Florida Department of Corrections, 9 of 33 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 27.3% of this agency's fallen.

Florida Department of Corrections

of 33 officers

27.3% Accident

FL — Statewide

313

of 1,008 officers

31.1% Accident

Nationwide

of 97,772 officers

0% Accident