Bristow died of natural causes on Sunday
night, September 23, according to the
sheriff’s ofce. He is survived by his wife
of 35 years, Lisa Kipp Bristow, and their
daughters Courtney and Cara. Bristow
was 59 years old. He would have turned
60 in October.
A Masterful Messenger
Bristow served as the public information
officer for Manatee County Sheriff’s
Ofce, where he was hired by former
Sheriff Charlie Wells in 1987. His job was
to bring a calm, clear message to the
media and public during tragic situations
- and he excelled in that role.
“Dave was really the face of the Manatee
County Sheriff’s Ofce for 31 years,”
says current Sheriff Rick Wells. “When
my dad was sheriff, they had some
big cases together that Dave helped
bring to the media and to the public,”
he recalls. “It was always nice to have
him with us, so we could do what we
needed to do, and he could handle the
media. He took that off our plate, so we
could do our job. He was an important
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