Officer Porfirio Soto, Jr. was killed in 1988.
Tampa Police - Officer Porfirio Soto Jr., 25, a police rookie, and Officer Charlotte Johnston were making an arrest on Boynton Beach shooting suspect Jackie Simpson on December 30, 1988 when Simpson leapt at Officer Soto.
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The two men grappled before Simpson pulled a .38 caliber revolver and twice shot Soto point blank in the chest. Soto's bulletproof vest deflected those shots, but as the officer raised his left arm in defense, Simpson fired at his unprotected side. He died an hour later.
Simpson was apprehended after a chase and later sentenced to 25 years, a light sentence for killing a police officer. On April 13, 1997, Jackie Simpson was found dead in his jail cell. An investigation disclosed that he hung himself.
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