Roll of Honor
Ralph "Butch" Waller, Jr.
Incident
Deputy Sheriff Butch Waller and Corporal Luis Paez were struck and killed, and Deputy Sheriff Dan Diaz was critically injured on Southern Boulevard near Seminole Pratt Whitney Road in Loxahatchee at 9:00 a.m.
One of the deputies had completed a traffic stop when his patrol motorcycle would not start. The deputy called other officers for assistance. While the three deputies were waiting for another deputy to help with the disabled motorcycle, a driver traveling east on Southern Boulevard switched lanes to pass a slower vehicle, overcompensated, and struck all three deputies. The responding deputy witnessed the collision.
Deputy Waller and Corporal Paez were life-flighted to St. Mary's Hospital, where they were pronounced deceased. Deputy Diaz succumbed to his injuries four days later.
The driver suffered minor injuries.
Deputy Waller had served with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office for 18 years.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-FL-39470AFB- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Deputy Sheriff Waller gave the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office 18 years.
Thank you for your service to the West Palm Beach community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Waller.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Deputy Sheriff Ralph "Butch" Waller, Jr. is one of 10,095 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,587 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 Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, 9 of 23 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.1% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Ralph "Butch" Waller, Jr.'s cause is highlighted.
How Ralph "Butch" Waller, Jr. Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Ralph "Butch" Waller, Jr. is highlighted in Nov.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
22 officers from Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
