2022 Fallen Officers Memorial

SPECIAL MEMORIAL EDITION
SPECIAL MEMORIAL EDITION
While it’s an honor and a privilege to produce this Special Memorial Edition honoring those
brave heroes who lost their lives in the line for duty during 2022. I hope and pray, that a time
will come when we never have to produce another one. But as long as man has lived on this
planet, there has always been those willing that stand up and protect their fellow human
beings. Darius Quimby was the first known law enforcement officer killed in the Line of Duty
in the U.S. on January 3, 1791. Since that tragic day in New York, more than 20,000 police
officers have lost their lives nationwide.
So why do we go to work knowing full well we may not come home at the end of our shift? Because
deep in our hearts we know, someone must hold the line between good and evil. Someone
must protect the innocents from those who would do them harm. Someone must stand
watch over Gods children and protect them from the evil in this world. And God chose me as that someone.
Please take the time to look at every single photo in this Memorial. Remember their names and pray for their families.
For they are the true heroes of this world.
Blessed are the Peacemakers for They Shall be Called the Children of God
FROM OUR EDITOR, Last year, there were 229 Law Enforcement “In the Line of Duty” deaths recorded by the
Officer Down Memorial Page. Sixty-four were lost by gunfire. Fifty-seven by auto related incidents.
Ninety-seven were by medical incidents and the remaining eleven were lost by “other”
causes. With all of those, 63 percent of those lost were in the course of non-Felonious incidents
with 37 percent lost in Felonious incidents.
Now, that’s the ‘clinical numbers. The problem I’ve always found with the ‘Clinical numbers’ is
those numbers are real people. More specifically, real people just like me. People with Mom’s,
Dad’s, Kids, and other relatives. People who have friends. They were City Cops. County Deputies.
Even a Tribal Officer. These men and women all had a life. They had friends. They had planned vacations.
Road trips. Dates. Plays. Musicals. Trips to the beach. You name it, they had it in their
CHIEF REX EVANS
future. Plans which were taken from them because they wore a badge. Just like the rest of us.
While there is a great deal of tragedy to be found in the over-all story of these men and women, there is certainly an
even more tragedy to be found in the individual’s personal story. The kinds of stories that cover things like, they were expecting
a new-born child, or they had just brought their first home. Maybe their first, new car or truck. The heartbreaking
stories of those that were about to be married and Wedding Day was only a week away.
Through all the tears and heartbreak, I can personally attest to Police Week in Washington D.C., as a symbol and a semblance
of peace. To be surrounded by fellow Officers from all over World is quite comforting. Coupled with the support of
organizations like the Concerns of Police Survivors, there are people and resources available on hand whereby the specter
of grief can be, if only temporarily, relieved.
As we look forward to 2023 and another year of hopeful reductions in the numbers of Fallen Officers, we cannot stop
looking back at those we’ve lost. For it is the life, lessons, and dedication to our Duty as Law Enforcement Officers, we are
bound to forever.
In closing, I would highly and with all sincerity, encourage any Law Enforcement Officer from Chief to the newest Officer,
to attend Police Week in Washington D.C. Visit the Fallen Officers Memorial. The Police Village. Visit the ODMP Museum and
a million other things to do. Above all, come be with your Blue Family.
yrs.
Prayer for Fallen Officers
Father, to those who’ve been there, nothing compares to the heart-wrenching screams
of “Officer down!” Except perhaps the torment of a family opening the door to see two
fellow officers of their officer standing with grim faces and tears welling in their eyes
as the family falls to its knees crying, “No, God, please no!
Or maybe you hear them wailing, “Why God, how could you do this when they were only
trying to protect our community?” And even, “Lord where were you when they were
dying?”
Lord, how does anyone comfort this family? Like Jeremiah, they wail, “My grief is beyond
healing; my heart is broken” (Jeremiah 18:18 NLT). There are no human answers
to satisfy or soothe their agonizing wounds of grief, anger, and sorrow.
Only you can Lord. Psalm 147:3 assures us that “He heals the brokenhearted and
binds up their wounds.” And Psalm 34:18 NLT confirms, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”
We beg of you to surround them with love. Bring others to their side who have experienced
their pain and understand the deep ache in their heart and will pray with and for
them. Keep away those who patronize and tell them everything will be all right, because
for this family, it will never be all right again.
Father, you know the fellow officers who mourn with the family, especially those who
were with the fallen officer. Remove from them the repeated nightmares of asking
themselves what they could have done differently or why wasn’t it them in the coffin.
Lord you know, that the death of their fellow officer will always haunt them and the
memory will never fade. Father guide them to the help they need to recover from what
they’ve seen and don’t let it cause division among the unit or place any in danger with
fear and hesitancy.
Guide them in keeping their focus on work when they’re on duty and help guard their
minds from the “what-ifs” when they try to sleep at night. Help them rest and renew
their resolve to do their job to the best of their ability.
Father, we know you mourn with both these families. Give them whatever they each
need in their lives. Walk beside them Father. Draw them into your embrace and fill them
with a peace that passes all understanding. For those who don’t know you, open their
eyes to seek you, the only source of relief from their anguish. Let them feel your presence
grieving with them. Your tears. Your hugs. Your love. Amen.
SPECIAL MEMORIAL EDITION