{"id":329137,"date":"2026-07-04T08:26:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T08:26:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/329137\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T08:26:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T08:26:32","slug":"tampa-police-rededicate-memorial-highway-in-honor-of-1st-female-officer-killed-in-line-of-duty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/329137\/","title":{"rendered":"Tampa police rededicate Memorial Highway in honor of 1st female officer killed in line of duty"},"content":{"rendered":"

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA)\u2014 The Tampa Police Department is rededicating Memorial Highway in honor of a police officer who lost her life in the line of duty in 2001.<\/p>\n

A rededication ceremony of the \u201cMaster Police Officer Lois Marrero Memorial Highway\u201d will occur on Monday, 25 years after her end of watch.<\/p>\n

On July 6, 2001, MPO Marrero, a 19-year veteran of the department, was killed in the line of duty while searching for a bank robbery suspect.<\/p>\n

According to TPD, in her final act of bravery, MPO Marrero became the first female officer in the department\u2019s history to lose her life while protecting and serving the community.<\/p>\n

\"Master<\/p>\n

Master Police Officer Lois Marrero (Credit: Tampa Police Department)<\/p>\n

The \u201cMaster Police Officer Lois Marrero Memorial Highway\u201d will encompass a part of W. Kennedy Blvd between Lois Ave and Dale Mabry Hwy.<\/p>\n

The designation was enacted by the Florida Legislature through CS\/CS\/SB-78<\/a> and was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer unwavering commitment to the safety of all those in\u00a0Tampa\u00a0remains a defining legacy of her career and an inspiration to the entire department,\u201d The Tampa Police Department said.<\/p>\n

The ceremony will begin at 11:30 a.m. at MGT of America.<\/p>\n

Mayor Jane Castor, Chief Lee Bercaw, and MPO Marrero\u2019s sister, Brenda Marrero, will speak at the ceremony before a memorial sign unveiling.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis brief ceremony will serve as a solemn moment for the department and the public to reflect upon MPO Marrero\u2019s life, her dedication, and the lasting impact she made on the City of\u00a0Tampa,\u201d TPD said.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA)\u2014 The Tampa Police Department is rededicating Memorial Highway in honor of a police officer who…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":329138,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135944,100,135941,135942,135945,1738,135943,135,137,136,3793],"class_list":["post-329137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-brenda-marrero","tag-florida-legislature","tag-lois-marrero","tag-memorial-highway","tag-mpo-marrero","tag-police-officer","tag-rededication-ceremony","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-tampa-police-department"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329137\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}