Master Police Officer Jesse Madsen was killed in the early hours of March 9, 2021, when his police vehicle was struck by a wrong way driver on Interstate 275.
Just before 1:00 AM on Tuesday morning, Tampa Police began receiving calls about a white vehicle driving southbound in the northbound lanes of I275 at a high rate of speed and swerving through the lanes. Within one minute of the original call, the white sedan crashed into Officer Madsen’s police vehicle between the Hillsborough and Sligh Avenue exits. The impact killed both Jesse and the driver of the white sedan. Jesse moved his police vehicle into the path of the wrong-way driver to save the lives of others.
Jesse Madsen, 45, has a wife and three children: a 16-year-old son, a 12-year-old son, and a 10-year-old daughter. He dedicated his life to the safety and service of others – as a United States Marine combat veteran, as a Police Officer in Lyndhurst, Ohio, and as a Police Officer in Shaker Heights Ohio. For the past 16 and a half years, Jesse has served proudly as a Tampa Police Officer. Jesse was a nine-time recipient of the Tampa Police Department’s Life-Saving Award.
Jesse’s badge, number 507, will be retired and his name will be etched for eternity into the Tampa Police Fallen Officers Memorial. He is the 32nd Tampa Police Officer to make the ultimate sacrifice. He will never be forgotten.