Lara Trump interviews families of Florida deputies killed in crash in Fox News episode
On Nov. 21, 2024, three road-patrol officers — Cpl. Luis Paez and Deputies Ralph "Butch" Waller and Ignacio "Dan" Diaz — were killed in a crash along Southern Boulevard west of Wellington, Florida. An SUV trying to avoid hitting another vehicle overcorrected in traffic, driving onto the side of the road and hitting the officers as they stood waiting for help in restarting a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office motorcycle. Paez and Waller died at St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach within hours of the crash. Diaz died there four days later. All three men were members of the sheriff's motorcycle patrol team.
President Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis, dignitaries, law enforcement officers and thousands of others attended a memorial service honoring Paez, Waller and Diaz on Dec. 3, 2024.
Maps show Trump's private club, Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach — nicknamed the Southern White House or Winter White House because of the amount of time he has spent there during his administration — is about 32 miles from the site of the fatal traffic crash.
Six months later, Paez, Waller and Diaz were posthumously awarded the first-ever Medals of Sacrifice, intended to recognize officers who lost their lives in the line of duty. The families traveled to Washington, D.C., to accept them.
On May 19, during "police week," Trump presented Alexandria Diaz, daughter of Palm Beach County sheriff's deputy Ignacio 'Dan' Diaz, with the Medal of Sacrifice during an Oval Office ceremony. The awkward moment with Trump and the fallen deputy's daughter, as it was dubbed online, went viral on social. Eric Trump, son of Donald Trump, and his wife, Fox News host Lara Trump, also attended the Medals of Sacrifice ceremony.
On May 24, an episode of Lara Trump's show, "My View with Lara Trump," spotlights Paez, Waller and Diaz and their extensive career as first responders. Lara Trump interviews Rep. Brian Mast (R-Florida) and the family members of the late Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputies.
In the episode, Mast explains the idea behind the Medals of Sacrifice: "There's nothing like the Medal of Honor that goes from the president directly to the law enforcement that have given their lives, given the last breath in their lungs or the last beat of their heart."
Mast, who represents St. Lucie County and Martin County of the Treasure Coast, said Donald Trump told him to "get it done, get that done."
Lara Trump sat down with Cameron Paez and Denise Waller for the May 24 episode, and both shared their feelings about the medals.
"It's everything. I mean, the first people that get this medal, we get invited to the Oval Office. It's an honor. I still can't believe it. To have us out here," Cameron Paez says in the interview.
Denise Waller agreed: "Absolutely, huge honor. Very touching that he's honored our three guys. And this was police week here in (Washington) D.C. And I met a lot of people who are in the same place I am. And it just made me feel really good to know that moving forward, every single one of them, every single one will be recognized that way."
"My View with Lara Trump," which made its debut in February 2025, airs at 9 p.m. ET Saturdays on Fox News.
Contributing: Hannah Phillips, Julius Whigham and James Coleman of the Palm Beach Post
Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Lara Trump films Fox News episode about 3 fallen deputies from Florida
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