Many community members stepped up in recent years to provide funds and practical assistance for the construction of the new Logan County Law Enforcement Memorial. In similar fashion Saturday morning, numerous area residents turned out in support of the dedication of the memorial, lining all along Sandusky Avenue by the Brown Park site, some wearing gloves and hats in the unseasonably cold May temperatures.
As the ceremony began, the sun peaked through the clouds and shone brightly as law enforcement officers, local officials and the community offered their respects to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.
“This has been a truly publicly supported memorial,” featured speaker Bellefontaine Police Chief Brandon Standley said to those in attendance. The first phase of the memorial began to take shape at this site in the last month after several years of fundraising by the Fraternal Order of Police Hi-Point Lodge 60, including approximately $38,000 raised through donations, plus additional in-kind materials and services from area businesses.
Bellefontaine Police Department Sgt. Allen Shields, who helped to spearhead the memorial project, read the names of the four Logan County law enforcement officers who were killed in the line of duty: George W. Rockwell, Logan County Sheriff’s Department, end of watch, 1878; Frank J. Hossler, Ohio State Highway Patrol, 1956; Sherman Ricketts, West Liberty Police Department, 1962; and Murray Griffin, Belle Center Police Department, 1986. Their names are each engraved bronze plates on the front of the black granite memorial.
“Unfortunately, this memorial may never be finished,” FOP President Sgt. Shields said, referencing future departed individuals who would be added to the ranks.
“Each of these lives taken has a history behind it,” Chief Standley said, sharing the details of the difficult scenarios faced by each of these local heroes in their final moments. “They have carved a path for each of us who serve today.”
For the families of these honored officers in attendance, the police chief also extended tribute and heartfelt condolences.
“I thank you for your sacrifice and your loved one’s sacrifice,” he said. “We know that you still feel that sting at their passing before they had lived out their lives. We, too, feel that sting as part of our extended family.”
The keynote speaker also highlighted another troubling issue facing law enforcement officers today with the mounting pressures of the job.
“Suicide rates among law enforcement are far too high these days,” he said. “This network of support like the people who are here today is so important; we can’t do this job alone.”
Chief Standley also encouraged those in the profession during a time that has been met with increased scrutiny of law enforcement — urging them to conduct their duties with the utmost integrity and to hold each other accountable.
“Now if the time for leadership. Now is the time to speak the truth.
”Now is the time for those who commit crimes against the badge to be harshly punished,” he continued, and for those who behave in ways unfit for the badge “to be removed.”
Bellefontaine Mayor Ben Stahler read a proclamation declaring this week as Peace Officer Memorial Week, and the program concluded with the Multi-Agency Rifle Squad led by Commander Tom Meek conducting a 21-gun salute and the playing of Taps by Lynn Fullerton. Chaplain Michael Valentine offered a benediction.
The FOP continues to fundraise for the second phase of the Logan County Law Enforcement Memorial, which includes installing a life-sized bronze statue of a law enforcement officer kneeling and holding a folded American flag for a family of a fallen officer.
Donations toward the project may be mailed to: Fraternal Order of Police, Hi-Point Lodge 60, P.O. Box 277, Bellefontaine, OH, 43311, or dropped off at the Bellefontaine Police Department, 135 N. Detroit St., or call Sgt. Shields at the police department, (937) 599-1010
Donors should specify that their donations are for the Logan County Law Enforcement Memorial. The lodge is a 501c3 organization.