Orange County officials break ground on Deputy Scott Pine Community Park

HORIZON WEST  It’s been three years since the death of Orange County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Scott Pine, and a community park bearing his name will help ensure that his memory lives on.

On Wednesday, May 10, county officials broke ground on what will become Deputy Scott Pine Community Park in Horizon West as community members and the Pine family remembered his legacy.

Located at 17199 Ficquette Road, the $9.7 million park will have two multi-purpose fields on 19-and-one-half acres. Orange County and Orange County Public Schools will share the park. One field will become a soccer field, and the other will serve as the off-site football stadium for Windermere High School.

“This is going to be a great park and a great opportunity for our citizens to come together,” said Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs. “We’ll never forget his (Scott’s) genuine passion for public service and his passion for helping others. This park will be a tribute to his life. It will serve as a place of gratitude, a place where kids can play and families can gather, a place where his heroic story and his memory will live on, inspiring generations to come.”

Pine was killed while on duty Feb. 11, 2014, as he was pursuing a suspected car burglar on foot in the Westminster Landing subdivision in West Orange County. The pursuit ended in the suspect, Benjamin Holtermann, fatally shooting him.

Orange County District 1 Commissioner Betsy VanderLey told the crowd at the groundbreaking that the county’s ultimate goal was not only to make sure that the area has a quality recreational facility but also to acknowledge Scott Pine’s sacrifice.

“It’s not just a name on a monument; you can see how Scott lives on in his children here today,” Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said. “There will be children in his park who will be dancing and playing for years to come. While he has passed on, he really lives in these children who are his and the other children who will be here at the park.”

OCPS is funding $3.7 million of the project, while another $3.7 million is funded by INVEST in Our Home for Life dollars, the $300-million initiative launched by Jacobs in 2015.

“It’s truly an honor for the community to honor my husband in this aspect; knowing that his legacy will live on through other things is awesome,” said Scott’s widow, Bridget Pine. “It’s amazing that my children and so many others will be able to enjoy a recreational park that has my husband’s name on it.”

Jacobs added that Pine and other law-enforcement officers across the community risk their lives every day, and his legacy will live on for generations to come. 

“Most importantly, it will be a permanent reminder to our our citizens in the future and visitors that come here of his dedication, service and life commitment to our citizens and how fortunate we are to have men in this country like Deputy Scott Pine who will risk their lives and, if needed, give their lives for each of us,” Jacobs said.

Deputy Scott Pine Community Park is expected to be completed in early 2018.

Contact Danielle Hendrix at [email protected].