{"id":6951,"date":"2026-03-30T16:27:49","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T16:27:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iupa.org\/?p=6951"},"modified":"2026-03-30T16:28:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T16:28:38","slug":"photos-of-the-week-law-enforcement-purple-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iupa.org\/index.php\/2026\/03\/30\/photos-of-the-week-law-enforcement-purple-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"Photos of the Week: Law Enforcement Purple Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"

Port St. Lucie Police Sergeants Association., I.U.P.A. Local #6017 Member Sergeant Erik Levasseur was awarded the Law Enforcement Purple Heart.<\/p>\n

Port Saint Lucie Police Department shared a video<\/a> on social media, \u201cBy order of the Chief of Police, we are proud to share with you, the Law Enforcement Purple Heart has been awarded to Senior Sergeant Erik Levasseur, a 27-year veteran of the Port St. Lucie Police Department.\u201d<\/p>\n

They continued, \u201cThis distinguished honor is reserved for officers who suffer serious injury in the line of duty during active confrontation with a criminal. On the evening of December 1, 2025, Senior Sergeant Levasseur responded to a call about a disturbance involving an armed suspect under the influence of narcotics. Arriving at the 11000 block of Southwest Lake Park Drive, he placed himself between the threat and his fellow officers and the public. As he rounded a corner in pursuit, he encountered the suspect, who was armed with an AK47, and was struck by multiple rounds without warning.\u201d<\/p>\n

They continued, \u201cSenior Sergeant Levasseur sustained life-threatening injuries, including two gunshot wounds to the face, multiple facial fractures, and significant trauma that required immediate surgery. His recovery involved jaw repair procedures, a tracheostomy, surgical intervention for shrapnel in his retina, extensive hospitalization, and ongoing rehabilitation\u2014all while facing an uncertain prognosis regarding his vision.\u201d<\/p>\n

They closed with, \u201cThroughout his treatment, his greatest concern remained the safety of his squad. His courage, sacrifice, and resilience embody the highest standards of law enforcement service. For his valor and unwavering commitment to duty, we honor Senior Sergeant Erik Levasseur with the Law Enforcement Purple Heart.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Each week, the I.U.P.A. Briefing Room features a photo that exemplifies the valuable part of the community that our Law Enforcement Officers all across the U.S. are and their positive impact as well as their dedication, service, and sacrifice.<\/p>\n

Submit your photos today to be considered for the photo of the week next week to alinaj@iupa.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-photos-of-the-week"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iupa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iupa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iupa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iupa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iupa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6951"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/iupa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6951\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6961,"href":"https:\/\/iupa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6951\/revisions\/6961"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iupa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iupa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iupa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iupa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}