News and Public Media for North Central Florida

Community Remembers Officer Killed 16 Years Ago

A monument in honor of Officer Scott Baird (Daniela Hurtado/WUFT News)

Dozens gathered in Gainesville this weekend for the annual candlelight memorial of Police Officer Scott Baird.

A monument, memorializing Officer Baird, sits by the #Gainesville High School baseball field. It was placed here about 6 years after his passing. (Stephanie Brohee/WUFT News)

Feb. 12 marked the 16th anniversary of a deadly crash where Baird was said to be working one early morning on a street behind Gainesville High School, waiting for a tow truck to move a batting cage left in the roadway.

Although it remains an unsolved case, people gather each year around a monument dedicated to Baird at the high school's baseball field to remember him.

Baird is also remembered through his nephew Logan Scott Baird, who carries his name.

"It makes me feel good because I know that a lot of people come out here and think about him and care about him," Logan said. "If there's one person I'd want to be named after, it'd be after him."

 

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Daniela is a reporter for WUFT News and can be contacted by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news@wuft.org.