Blood drive in memory of FMPD Officer Adam Jobbers-Miller starts Tuesday

Liz Freeman, Naples Daily News
Updated ·2 min read
Taylor Smith, left, who works in the Lee Memorial emergency department, and acting captain Shawn Yates of the Fort Myers Police Department give blood on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, as a part of the 5th Annual Officer Adam Jobbers-Miller Blood Drive. The event runs from 8 am to 4:30 pm through Thursday, July 27. On Tuesday and Wednesday the blood drive is at Lee Memorial Hospital and the Thursday blood drive is at the Fort Myers Police Department.

Lee Health and the family of fallen Fort Myers police officer Adam Jobbers-Miller have partnered for a blood drive in his honor.

The blood drive will be held over three days starting Tuesday and wrapping up Thursday.

This is the fifth year that the publicly-operated hospital system which cared for Jobbers-Miller is hosting the blood drive with the officer’s family.

Jobbers-Miller, 29, was shot in the line of duty July 21, 2018 when he pursued a suspect for theft of a cell phone.

The suspect, Wisner Desmaret, was able to grab the officer’s gun during a scuffle and shot Jobbers-Miller twice in the head.

Desmaret was found guilty in April on eight counts, including first degree murder of a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest with violence. In June he was sentenced to life in prison.

Jobbers-Miller spent a week at Lee Memorial Hospital, part of Lee Health, near downtown Fort Myers before dying from his injuries. He had been with the police department two years.

A funeral service was held Monday, Aug. 6, 2018, for Fort Myers police officer Adam Jobbers-Miller at Germain Arena.
A funeral service was held Monday, Aug. 6, 2018, for Fort Myers police officer Adam Jobbers-Miller at Germain Arena.

The family and the hospital have organized the blood drive to make a difference in the community, to increase blood donations and to honor Jobbers-Miller's memory.

Here is the schedule:

  • Tuesday and Wednesday:

8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. – Lee Memorial Hospital, 2776 Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers.

  • Thursday:

8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. – Fort Myers Police Department, 2210 Widman Way,  Fort Myers.

Is there a blood shortage now?

There is a blood shortage now and all donors and blood types are needed, according to Jeremy Puckett, supervisor of Lee Health’s blood center.

“The blood center is experiencing a significant shortage of O-positive and O-negative blood but is also low on all other types,” he said in an email.

“Summer is always a slow time for the blood center with our snowbirds back home, schools closed and families on vacation,” he said. “The blood center values this annual drive as a means of helping sure up the blood supply during this slow time of year.”

The drive is intended for people to just show up and show support in honor of Jobbers-Miller and for Lee Health patients, Puckett said. Chairs and tents will be set up with food and snacks.

The blood center typically seen more than 100 donors come forward each day in the previous four years of the blood drive in memory of Jobbers-Miller. The blood center expects no less than 100 donors each day for this year’s drive, Puckett said.

A significant number of law enforcement officers donate blood, he said.

“We usually see officers from all over the area — not just Fort Myers Police Department,” he said. “Thursday we will see several Lee County Sheriff’s deputies come over from the jail and courts divisions.”

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: 100 donors a day expected during blood drive in memory of slain officer