The only time Gainesville Police Lt. Corey Dahlem was ever reprimanded at work was when the life-long Seminoles fan got caught on the job watching a Gators sports game with his colleagues.
He told his supervisor - current Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell - he had been testing out the big-screen TVs in GPD's Data Trac room, a high-tech multimedia center Dahlem helped design.
Darnell wasn't buying it.
"Yeah, right," she said with a laugh. "They were definitely watching the game."
Friday morning, one year after Dahlem's death, the Data Trac room was dedicated to him in front of his family and fellow officers.
His widow, Sally Dahlem, and their two children, Katie, 19, and Brandon, 22, listened as GPD Chief Norman Botsford spoke about Dahlem's character and dedication to the force.
"Corey, without exception, was a delight every single day," Darnell said.
Sally Dahlem said a few words as well, encouraging her husband's friends to smile rather than cry when they thought of him.
"Just remember funny stories about him and the things that you did with him," she said, "and just smile and laugh."
The Data Trac room, which was constructed from the ground up after GPD moved its communications center, is equipped with touch-screen TVs and other state-of-the-art technology, said GPD spokeswoman Summer Hallett.
"It's kind of like a war room," Hallett said.
