Miami, FL – Miami Police Officer Michaelle DeLoach died on Thursday after fighting a valiant battle against cancer.

Officer DeLoach, 46, was a 20-year veteran of the Miami Police Department who joined the force as an officer in 1998.

Prior to becoming an officer, she worked for Miami PD as a public service aide, according to a post on the department’s official Facebook page.

She had planned to become a certified mental health counselor when she retired from the police force, according to a post by her husband on a GoFundMe campaign set up to assist with her medical expenses.

Officer DeLoach received her master’s degree in psychology with a concentration in mental health in 2017.

As an officer, she spent nine years assigned to the Community Relations Unit, where she planned several community events.

Laster, she became the Crimes Against the Elderly officer for her department, and served as a liaison between the police department and the senior citizen community.

Officer DeLoach conducted classes for the elderly on how to stay safe both physically and financially, and was known to establish personal connections with the seniors she helped.

She was a Police Explorer Advisor for more than 16 years, and coached cheerleading and track and field for the Police Athletic league.

Her husband wrote that many of the young men and woman whom Officer DeLoach mentored over the years went on to become police officers later.

She is survived by her husband and daughter, and a community whom she’d made a tremendous mark upon during her lifetime.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Miami Police Officer Michaelle DeLoach, both blood and blue. Thank you for your service.

Rest easy, hero. We’ll hold the line from here.