On March 27, 2021 Bruce Milne passed away, tragically taking his own life.
In Bruce’s short life he dedicated himself to serving the community, upholding the law and wholeheartedly committed to justice. Bruce’s love for law enforcement and his community began at a very young age. He joined the Clermont Police Explorer’s in high school and quickly became a leader to his fellow explorers as a Police Explorer Sergeant; he never missed a single event and supported his peers as well as his mentors at all turns. Bruce attended Lake Sumter Community college for his associates degree and achieved the Dean’s list for his excellent academic performance, graduating with his Associates of Arts Degree. He attended the University of Central Florida to successfully obtain his Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice with a focus in Public Administration and Homeland Security and Emergency Management. While attending UCF he participated in the UCF police department’s internship program and received an award for excellence in the performance of his duties. He also participated in externships with Winter Garden Police and Orange County Sheriff’s Office. After graduating from UCF he was one of the few officers sponsored by the Seminole County Sheriff’s office to attend Seminole State College to obtain his Criminal Justice Certificate in Law Enforcement. At the completion of this program he was accepted into a role as Deputy Sheriff for the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. Bruce served diligently in his role for four years as a deputy and was named in several memo’s of recognition and was awarded the Life Save award multiple times. Bruce had recently started working as an officer for the Winter Park Police Department and was a standout new officer. The department was eager to have him as their Defensive Tactics instructor and had hoped he would become a member of their SWAT team. He was in the process of finishing a Master’s Degree in Cyber Security and Information Assurance with the Florida Institute of Technology and had hoped to pass the Sergeant’s Exam in the future and for a long and impactful career with Winter Park PD.
Many people knew Bruce as an upstanding and professional police officer but not everyone got to see the fun, goofy, silly, and loving side of him. He was the type of person to make silly faces and goof around to make others laugh. He’d be the first to send you a random text with a meme he thought you’d laugh at. He was the biggest animal lover and looked forward to one day moving to Montana where I’m sure he’d have had a ranch full of animals wearing his cowboy boots and hat enjoying finding peace and quiet.
Bruce and his memory are survived by his brother Ralph, his sister in law Brenna, his niece Mila, and all of his fellow officers and the people whose lives he made a positive impact on.
While his spirit is gone from this earth leaving only a body behind, his energy will forever be with each and every one of us.
May he find peace and comfort watching over us.
In lieu of flowers please consider contributing to creating a scholarship in his honor.
A celebration of his life will occur April 12th 2021 at the Sanctuary Deck at Wekiva Island located at 1014 Miami Springs Drive, Longwood, FL
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