Charles A. Thompson, III
Agency patch
Officer

Charles A. Thompson, III

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office — Jacksonville, FL
Accident
End of Watch January 8, 1979
Age 29
The Vigil Panel 121 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer Charles Thompson, Officer Ronald Florence, and Officer Fred Lucy were killed in a plane crash while en route to pickup a prisoner in Panama City, Florida. The Cessna 411, which had been seized several weeks prior, developed engine problems within minutes of taking off from Craig Field in Jacksonville. The pilot attempted to return to the airport was forced to attempt an emergency landing in a field along Beach Boulevard. The plane struck a telephone pole and then the roof of a car dealership before coming to rest. All three officers were killed on impact.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-FL-2846DD4C
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
April 2, 2026
Last updated
July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Officer Thompson served with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Jacksonville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Thompson.

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

Agency

Location Jacksonville, FL
Platform Identity jso.duval.fl.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch January 8, 1979
Age 29
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Officer Charles A. Thompson, III is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 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 0.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, 12 of 30 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 40% of this agency's fallen.

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office
12
of 30 officers
40% Accident
FL — Statewide
313
of 1,008 officers
31.1% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Charles A. Thompson, III's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How Charles A. Thompson, III Compares

Age at End of Watch
29
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Charles A. Thompson, III is highlighted in Jan.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location