Tampa Riverwalk at Night

Master Police Officer Jesse Madsen

MPO Jesse Madsen

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 16 and a half years, Jesse served proudly as a Tampa Police Officer and is an eight-time recipient of the Tampa Police Department’s Life-Saving Award. 

Jesse’s badge, number 507, is retired and his name is 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.

More Information

Many members of our community and beyond have contacted the Tampa Police Department offering to donate to Officer Madsen’s family. The Tampa Police foundation (Rise Tampa) has set up ways to officially donate to Officer Madsen’s family. 100% of the donations will be provided directly to the family.

Ways to Donate
In Person: Monetary donations can be submitted to any Bank of Tampa branch in MPO Madsen’s name.

By Mail: Checks or money orders can be sent to:

RISE Tampa
i/c/o MPO Madsen
PO Box 172816
Tampa, FL 33672

Online: www.risetampa.org/officermadsen

Venmo: @risetampa

PayPal: paypal.me/risetampa 

Officer Madsen’s funeral service took place Tuesday, March 16, at 11 a.m. at Idlewild Baptist Church located at 18333 Exciting Idlewild Blvd, Lutz, FL 33548. 

Final Honors were presented immediately after the church service, and can be viewed here.

Following the service, a police procession escorted MPO Madsen to Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, FL - where a private service with full military honors took place.

Send your messages of condolence and sympathy, which will be shared with the Madsen family.

To honor the life of Officer Madsen, a public candlelight vigil was held on Thursday, March 11, at 6:30 p.m. at Tampa Police Headquarters located at 411 N Franklin St, Tampa, FL 33602. Chief Dugan, Mayor Castor, TPD personnel, and city and county dignitaries will be in attendance along with members of Officer Madsen’s immediate family. The vigil can be viewed here.