LaPorte County Sheriff’s Honor Guard Deputy Jake Koch renders a salute after posting the American flag at the start of the memorial service.
Information by Mike Kellems, photos by Jon Burger
(Click on photos to enlarge)
The LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department held its 14th annual Peace Officer Memorial Service on Monday, May 20, 2013. The ceremony, held at the county complex, offers an opportunity for community members and local law enforcement officers to remember the sacrifices made by police officers in the county as well as throughout the nation.
LaPorte County Sheriff’s Sgt. Mike Kellems opened the ceremony and included statistics from the previous year: 120 police officers across the United States died in the line of duty in 2012, a significant drop from the year before. However, 2013 has started out with a higher number of deaths, including a 7% increase in gunfire deaths.
Doug Carter, superintendent of the Indiana State Police, delivered the keynote address. Carter, a native of LaPorte and 1980 graduate of LaPorte High School, shared stories of growing up in LaPorte with a father who was an Indiana State trooper and learning early on the value of public service.
Carter shared his hope with the audience that the remaining memorial frames at state police headquarters would stay empty forever and never have to be used. Yet he sadly acknowledged that statistics tell us a policeman dies every 54 hours in America. He noted that his agency loses an officer every 18 months.
Four New Prairie High School students made a special presentation at the ceremony. Brittney Ryan, Fedy Ruiz, Corey Lambert and Brandon Zehrung chose a legacy project that honors fallen emergency service workers. They raised funds and had a plaque made listing the names and agencies of firefighters and police officers. The students gained permission from the LaPorte County Commission to have the plaque permanently mounted on the wall of the county complex near a memorial for LaPorte County Patrolman Neil Thompson, who was killed in the line of duty in 1980.
LaPorte City Police Cpl. Brian Phillips, who is also a musician, sang the National Anthem and also his signature song, “Why Do Heroes Have To Die?” Phillips has performed the song across Indiana and at the National Memorial Services in Washington, D.C. A video of the song has received almost 100,000 hits on YouTube.
Members of the New Prairie High School Legacy Project, dedicated to honoring fallen emergency workers in LaPorte County, unveil the plaque that was part of their project.
LaPorte native and Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter delivers the keynote address.
LaPorte City Police Cpl. Brian Phillips sings his signature song, “Why Do Heroes Have To Die?”
Cindy Kautz, widow of Long Beach Chief Marshal Jim Kautz, who was killed in the line of duty, stands as her husband’s name is read during the End of Watch Roll Call.