PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office motor unit is up for a prestigious Task Force Award at this year's LEO Awards — recognition the unit's members say is appreciated, but not why they do the job.
The 30-member team is responsible for traffic enforcement, fatal crash investigations, and escorting some of the most powerful people in the world.
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"What a lot of people do for fun, we get to do every day for work," Cpl. Tim Rieger said.
Rieger has been a member of the elite unit for 10 years.
"Your brain needs to be two moves ahead. We're playing chess when we ride motorcycles. We're not playing checkers," Rieger said.
According to the nomination form, "in 2025, PBSO’s Motor Unit conducted 33,965 traffic stops, issued 39,736 traffic citations,1,962 criminal traffic citations, and 25,186 written warnings; made 23 felony arrests and 41 misdemeanor arrests; worked 58 vehicle crashes; and spent 74 hours assisting PBSO’s Vehicle Homicide Investigation Unit."
The unit also completed a high volume of high-priority dignitary escorts.
"During Christmas and New Year's, we had Netanyahu here, you had Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, obviously President Trump. The motor unit, along with our tact division, conducted 87 dignitary escorts in two weeks," Capt. Ryan Mugridge said.
Mugridge has been with the sheriff's office for 22 years, 10 of them spent riding PBSO Harleys as captain of the motor division. He said escorting dignitaries is the most dangerous part of the job — and the pace takes a toll.
"As a commander, you worry about them, you worry about the fatigue, and obviously we lost three deputies not too long ago, and I don't want to lose another one," Mugridge said.
Nearly two years ago, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office faced one of the darkest days in the agency's history when three motormen were killed in a crash.
Region C Palm Beach County
Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office honors 3 deputies killed in crash
"Our foundation was definitely shaken. I'm not going to lie to you," Mugridge said.
Mugridge said the bond between deputies helped the unit push forward after the tragedy.
"The camaraderie they have is what kept them moving forward, you know. Those three deputies, to say it was a it was a loss, you can't even fathom to lose three very senior motor guys. One of them trained me, Corporal Paez, and I called him Papa Smurf," Mugridge said.
Mugridge said the unit continues to honor those who were lost.
"We are family, you know. We truly, we look after the fallen deputies, you know. We still go out and look at the spouses. It's just that what we do, and it's hard to break the mold of a motor deputy," Mugridge said.
For Rieger, the LEO Award nomination is meaningful — but secondary to the mission.
"The paycheck is the same. The awards are the same. We don't do it for those reasons. We do it because we genuinely care," Rieger said.
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