Police officer in Obama motorcade struck by truck, killed

WEST PALM BEACH, Flor. — A police officer was killed Sunday after being struck on his motorcycle by a truck during Pres. Barack Obama's motorcade.

Bruce St. Laurent, a 20-year veteran of the Jupiter Police Department, was riding ahead of the presidential motorcade on Interstate 95 when he was hit by a Ford F-150 at 4:45 p.m. The driver has not been identified. Laurent was taken to St. Mary's Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

"We didn't lose a co-worker. We lost a friend," Sgt. Scott Pascarella, Jupiter police spokesman, told the Palm Beach Post. "He would do anything for anyone."

Officers placed Laurent's patrol video in front of the police station Monday, decorating it with black banners and a single rose, WPTVreports.

The Secret Service released the following statement regarding the incident:

"The Secret Service extends their deepest sympathies to the officer's family and to the Jupiter Police Department."

Other political news:

• Pres. Obama raised more in August than GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, bringing in $114 million to Romney's $111 million. It was the first time in four months the president has raised more than his challenger.

1. Pres. Obama made a birther joke of his own this weekend when he met a young boy who was born in Hawaii, the president's home state. "You were born in Hawaii? You have a birth certificate?" Obama teased, according to the Associated Press.
2. Pres. Obama was lifted off his feet Sunday by the owner of a Florida restaurant, the Huffington Post reports. Obama told Scott Van Duzer, 46, that the 6-foot-3, 260 pound man was "like the biggest pizza shop owner I've ever seen," according to a White House pool report. Van Duzer responded by lifting the president off his feet.

"Everybody look at these guns," Obama said. "If I eat your pizza, will I look like that?" 3. A new Gallup poll found that 43 percent of Americans who say they saw the Democratic National Convention are more likely to vote for Pres. Obama. Thirty-eight percent said they are less likely to vote for him. 4. Mitt Romney said during a Meet the Press interview that he opposes much of the Affordable Care Act, but would not do away with health reform if elected.

"Well, I'm not getting rid of all of healthcare reform," Romney said. "Of course there are a number of things that I like in health care reform that I'm going to put in place. One is to make sure that those with preexisting conditions can get coverage. Two is to assure that the marketplace allows for individuals to have policies that cover their family up to whatever age they might like."

1. Ann Romney said during a Sunday interview on Meet the Press that she and Mitt Romney recognize that their struggles in life have not been financial. "Mitt and I do recognize that we have not had a financial struggle in our lives," she said. "But I want people to believe in their hearts that we know what it is like to struggle. And our struggles have not been financial, but they've been with health and with difficulties in different things in life."

Related topics