By Frank Fernandez
The Daytona Beach News-Journal
BUNNELL, Fla. — A charity is accepting donations for Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Detention Deputy Paul Luciano’s family following his death from COVID-19 complications, according to a press release.
The Flagler Sheriff’s Employee Assistance Trust has established a GoFundMe for Luciano’s family. As of Monday morning, the fund had raised $2,895 from 27 donors toward a goal of $5,000.
Donations made through this account are tax-deductible as the employee assistance trust is an authorized charity under IRS regulations, the release stated.
Luciano was the first detention deputy sheriff to die in the line of duty in the history of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, the release stated.
Luciano likely contracted COVID-19 while working at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, according to the release. He was hospitalized for several weeks at AdventHealth Palm Coast before he died Thursday.
Luciano started his career in 1996 with the Bunnell Police Department. He then joined the Volusia County Department of Corrections and retired from there in 2017, the release stated.
Luciano started working at the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office in November 2019 as a detention deputy, the release stated.
Luciano became a mentor to younger detention deputies and inmates and was known as “Looch,” the release stated.
“The community and agencies around the country have been asking how they could help the family, so I asked FSEAT to set up a GoFundMe account,” Sheriff Rick Staly stated in the release. “He has a son in Hawaii that needs to get home and there are other unexpected expenses, so I am asking the community to help and support our fallen hero.
“Please keep Luciano’s family in your thoughts and prayers along with his brothers and sisters at FCSO as we mourn his loss together,” the release stated.
Luciano is survived by his wife of 43 years, Carrie, his father, who is a Korean War veteran, two sons and a daughter.
To donate, visit https://gofund.me/a3a20584 and for information about the Flagler Sheriff’s Employee Assistance Trust, visit fseat.org.
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