Florida Police Officer Dies While On Duty

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --

A veteran Jacksonville officer died Wednesday afternoon in his unmarked police car on the Hart Bridge.

Police said they were notified about 1:15 p.m. of a person slumped over the wheel of a car against the barrier wall of the bridge near the exit to Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway.

After responding officers broke the window to get in, Officer Robert "Bobby" Ford, 44, was transported to Shands-Jacksonville Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

In announcing that Ford had died, Sheriff John Rutherford called him a "great guy, easy-going, full of life."

Ford was on duty Wednesday, presumably heading to the Police Memorial Building. Rutherford said the car was found in neutral and no other cars were involved.

While an autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death, Rutherford said it was likely a heart attack.

Ford, who was 44, spent most of his career with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office working in the narcotics and vice unit.

"A 24-year veteran and a guy who loved the job like he did, it's a big loss," Sheriff John Rutherford said.

The last Jacksonville officer to die on duty was also killed in a traffic accident. Officer Christopher Kane was killed Sept. 4, 2008, when his patrol car struck the back of a tractor-trailer in a construction zone on state Road 9A.

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