LA PALMA BAY — A former Palm Bay Police Chief he was remembered Saturday afternoon as a “light” to others, including in his struggle with mental illness, which a speaker at his funeral called a “plague” on law enforcement.
Jim Rogers, who joined the Palm Bay Police Department in October 1987 and served as police chief from 2017 to 2019, killed himself on March 13. He was 57 years old.
Survived by his wife, Melissa Rogers, and their two children, a crowd of family, friends, former colleagues and community members gathered at CenterPointe Church in Palm Bay for a ceremony remembering the impact he had on others during his life and talked about mental health issues.
“I don’t know of a Christian man who reflects the light of Christ more than Jim,” said Mark Mynheir, a retired Palm Bay homicide detective who now works with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
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Mynheir called mental health problems a “plague” on law enforcement, saying many suffered in silence without help.
“We still whisper when we talk about depression in a way that we don’t when we talk about cancer, heart disease or any other disease,” he said. He added that the “daily battle” officers face can be overwhelming.
“Those wounds are just as real and debilitating as physical wounds and injuries,” he said. “The stigma of mental health problems is still with us, and to remain silent while so many of our friends and colleagues are suffering is not compassion, but cowardice.”
Joel Rogers said the family would not hide the cause of his father’s death.
“He would want people to get help,” he said. “(God) didn’t want this to happen, but he allowed it for a greater purpose. For people to be saved, for people to be helped.”
Mynheir recalled the biblical stories of Elijah, Job and others who “struggled with depression.”
“If godly, heroic men in the Bible fight, why would we think it’s any different for us?” he said.
Palm Bay Police Chief Nelson Moya, who became chief after Rogers’ retirement in 2019, asked everyone to keep their memories of Rogers.
“Mental (illness) is an illness,” Moya said. “(The) Jim Rogers who passed away was not the Jim Rogers we all knew, I assure you. Let’s not judge him today. Let’s love him, his memory and his family. That’s the impact he had on all of us.”
The ceremony included remarks from the Rev. Tom Walker, senior pastor of CenterPointe, and the Rev. Jerry Klemm, senior pastor of the Rogers family’s local church, Covenant Presbyterian.
Rogers’ death is the third recent death in the department. Last year, Cpl. Frank Tobar died of complications from COVID-19. John Masse, a 59-year-old former Palm Bay officer, also died after contracting COVID-19.
In recent years, the Palm Bay Police Department has focused on mental health, Moya said. Rogers was a catalyst for the change in focus, and Moya promised that he would remain a priority under the new boss after his upcoming retirement.
“There is nothing as important as the health of the people, the men and women, who serve our communities. I promise you that,” Moya said.
Joel Rogers said that his father lived as a “light” to others and asked that they work to emulate him.
“I just want you to think of a time that made your day better or made you feel valued and sit back and soak in that feeling of being valued,” he said, adding that others should work to make others feel the same way. way.
After the speakers, a photo slideshow was played and an American flag was presented to Rogers’ family. Klemm told the audience that a 21-gun salute would be held outside, followed by a procession to Ammen Funeral Home.
Rogers’ other son, Kellen, spoke of his father’s selfless lifestyle, encouraging others to remember him for those qualities and take comfort in the knowledge that he was now at peace.
“We know with all our hearts that you are in paradise,” he said. “You’re walking the streets of gold right now.”
Finch Walker is a breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at 321-290-4744 or [email protected]. Twitter: @_finch
