Chris Reyka

Chris Reyka
Broward County Sheriff's Office
April 28, 1956(1956-04-28) – August 10, 2007(2007-08-10) (aged 51)
Years of service	1989 - August 10, 2007
Rank	Sergeant

Chris (Christopher) Reyka (April 28, 1956 - August 10, 2007) was a Sergeant with the Broward County Sheriff's Office who was shot to death on August 10, 2007. Chris Reyka was in the United States Marine Corps and later in the Marine Force Reserves before joining the Pompano Beach Police Department in 1989. The Pompano Beach Police Department was absorbed into the Broward County Sheriff's Office in 1999 and Reyka continued to work in the city, eventually being promoted to the rank of Sergeant.

Family

The Reyka family includes wife Kim and children Ashley, Sean, Autumn and Spencer. Sean is also a United States Marine and is stationed in Beaufort, SC. The family resides in Wellington, Florida in Palm Beach County and is active in a local Catholic church. Chris Reyka was also involved with the Boy Scouts of America.^[1]

Death

Sgt. Reyka worked as one of three sergeants on the overnight shift (10:00pm–6:00am) and frequently went on road patrol to conduct proactive law enforcement. On August 10, 2007 at approximately 1:30am, Reyka logged a stolen tag on a suspicious car he spotted in the Walgreens parking lot on the west side of Pompano Beach;^[2] soon afterwards residents called in a report of a shooting in that area, and said that a deputy was crouched next to his car. When deputies arrived they found Reyka shot multiple times and near death on the ground outside of his car. Sgt. Reyka was transported to the North Broward Medical Center in Deerfield Beach, Florida where he succumbed to his wounds.

According to detectives of BSO, Sgt. Reyka pulled into parking lot and checked the license plate of a suspicious car. An occupant of the car presumably exited and fired ten rounds at Sgt. Reyka, striking him in multiple places not protected by his bullet resistant vest. A security camera caught a white sedan leaving the area,^[3] but it was not found. As of September 2009 his murder remains unsolved.^[4] but there is reason to believe that it was committed by a gang of drug store robbers whose leader was arrested in December 2007.^[5]

The case has been featured on America's Most Wanted several times.

Reyka was buried on August 15, 2007 with full police and military honors in Lake Worth, Florida. A Memorial Fund through BSO has been established. The City of Pompano Beach officially renamed the stretch of roadway on SW 3rd Street between Cypress Road and Dixie Highway for Sgt. Chris Reyka on September 25, 2007.

Sgt. Reyka's murder remains unsolved.

Notes

1. ^ Tom D'Angelo (November 21, 2007). "His public death, their private grief: Life without Sgt. Chris Reyka". The Palm Beach Post. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/news/interactives/reyka.html. 
2. ^ Sofia Santana and Mark Hollis (March 30, 2008). "Motorcycle convoy pays tribute to Chris Reyka". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/sfl-flbreyka0330sbmar30,0,1756997.story?track=rss. 
3. ^ "Seeking Information". FBI. August 10, 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-03-11. http://web.archive.org/web/20080311212746/http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/seekinfo/reyka_c.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-07. 
4. ^ "Fugitive data file for Unknown Sgt. Chris Reyka Killer". America's Most Wanted. http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=47637. 
5. ^ Carey Codd (February 19, 2008). "Chris Reyka Murder Weapon May Be In Canal". CBS4. http://cbs4.com/local/Deputy.Killed.BSO.2.657994.html. Retrieved 2008-04-07. 

Persondata
Name	Reyka, Christopher
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	April 28, 1956
Place of birth
Date of death	August 10, 2007
Place of death