[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 35 (Friday, February 21, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E149]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING OFC. ELIJAH K. SHABAZZ AS A DISTINGUISHED LEADER IN CENTRAL 
                    FLORIDA FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH

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                            HON. DARREN SOTO

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 21, 2025

  Mr. SOTO. Mr. Speaker, Ofc. Elijah K. Shabazz was born in Albany, 
Georgia, and his mother and father are from Valdosta, Georgia. Ofc. 
Shabazz has two brothers and one sister. He is the youngest of his 
siblings. His family moved to Orlando in the early 70s when he was very 
young. However, he spent a lot of his childhood in Georgia with his 
great-grandmother and great-aunts and uncles, which were some of his 
fondest memories in his formative years.
  Ofc. Shabazz's mother was a physical therapist for the Orange County 
School Board working with special needs children, and his father worked 
in Central Florida for the Tri-County Transit Authority, which is now 
Lynx Transport.
  Ofc. Shabazz has always had a special place in his heart to serve. 
When he was young, he was in the Boy Scouts of America, learning values 
and discipline to become productive in the community. He was also in 
the ARMY JROTC while in high school. Ofc. Shabazz would spend time with 
his mother in the historic town of Eatonville, Florida, volunteering at 
festivals and community events.
  As time went on, after getting married and having children of his 
own, he decided to pursue his dreams of going into law enforcement. 
Ofc. Shabazz attended the Seminole State College School for Public 
Safety, where he earned his Florida Law Enforcement Certification. Ofc. 
Shabazz obtained his degree in the Science of Criminal Justice 
Administration from Columbia College and became a police officer in 
Eatonville, Florida, where he served for eight years. While there, he 
also became a school resource officer at Hungerford Elementary School 
and resurrected the school safety patrol to give students a sense of 
meaning, purpose, and integrity, as well as assisting families living 
in poverty in the community.
  Ofc. Shabazz also received a letter of commendation before joining 
the Belle Isle Police Department. Besides conducting his duties as an 
officer, he assists in new officer field training and as the police 
department's mental health liaison and senior citizen public relations 
officer. Ofc. Shabazz received a lifesaving award and a Distinguished 
Officer of the Year award for 2024 from the Belle Isle Police 
Department. Ofc. Shabazz continues to serve with pride and self-agency.

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