CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – There was a procession Monday afternoon for a Clay County deputy who died Sunday after a long battle with COVID-19.
Deputy Clint Seagle was a member of the Clay County Sheriff’s Office since 2006 and served in the patrol, traffic, and, most recently, civil unit.
Seagle also served his country for 21 years in the United States Navy.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, and we will remember his service to our county and our country always,” the Sheriff’s Office said.
2/2. Deputy Seagle served the residents of Clay County in Patrol, Traffic, and most recently, the Civil Unit. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, and we will remember his service to our county and our country always.
— Clay County Sheriff's Office, FL (@ccsofl) August 29, 2021
On Monday afternoon, the Sheriff’s Office escorted Seagle from Ascension St. Vincent’s Clay County in Middleburg to Jacksonville Memory Gardens Cemetery and Funeral Home on Blanding Boulevard in Orange Park.
The community was invited to come out and pay their respects along the way. Northbound and southbound traffic on Blanding Boulevard was shut down at 1 p.m. as dozens of people lined the road for the procession. Loved ones and strangers along the procession route flew flags and saluted Seagle.
“Officer Seagle was one of my best friends. He was a good man, a retired chief in the military, loved this country, loved everything he did, his job,” said longtime friend Paul Allen.
Allen said Seagle always committed himself to his family, friends and country.
“It’s a sad situation, but Officer Seagle is a great man, and he’s going to be missed,” Allen said.
This was the second COVID-19-related death in the Sheriff’s Office in less than a year. Clay County Sgt. Eric Twisdale died in September 2020 due to complications related to the coronavirus.
News4Jax records show at least eight first responders have died from COVID-19 complications in Northeast Florida.