Police Memorial Service to remember, honor officers who have died

How to go

What: Annual Middletown Division of Police Memorial Service

When: 11 a.m. Monday, May 13

Where: Woodside Cemetery, 1401 Woodside Blvd.

Middletown’s fallen officers

The Middletown Division of Police will conduct its annual Memorial Service on May 13 at Woodside Cemetery. The service will honor all law enforcement officers across the country who died in the line of duty in 2012. Middletown last lost an officer in the line of duty in 1939. Here’s the list of this city’s fallen officers:

Died Oct. 29, 1939 in an automobile accident

Died March 21, 1930 after he was fatally shot

Died July 18, 1928 after he was fatally shot

Died May 6, 1928 after he was fatally shot

Died May 5, 1928 after he was fatally shot

Died April 10, 1926 after he was fatally shot

Died on March 12, 1913 from an illness brought on by a duty-related accident

Source: Middletown Division of Police

Police Week this year will be capped by honoring the members of the Middletown Division of Police at an awards ceremony, but it starts remembering those who had been killed in action.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy proclaimed May 15 National Police Officers Memorial Day, and the week in which that day falls as Police Week. This week departments across the country, including here in Middletown, will be conduct services that week honoring those who currently serve and those who have died in the line of duty.

“It happens all over the country. It can happen here today,” said Maj. Rodney Muterspaw of deaths in the line of duty.

Middletown police has not had an officer die while on duty since Assistant Chief Henry Brinkmeyer died in car accident in 1939 when he was returning to the police department from a disturbance call. In all there have been seven Middletown officers who have died.

“There have been a lot of instances where that could have went really bad, and they didn’t,” said Muterspaw. “There are times you’re going to run into a mess no matter what you do, but I think as far as not dying in the line of duty our officers are just careful of what they do.”

On Monday, May 15, Middletown’s seven officer that died and law enforcement officers from across the country who died will be honored during a roll call at a ceremony at Woodside Cemetery, 1401 Woodside Blvd. According to the national Fraternal Order of Police, 12 dozen men and women in 2012 died while on duty.

In many cases law enforcement officers are the first and last line of defense for most Americans, Muterspaw said.

“It’s a time for us to look at that and reflect on what we do and those who’ve done it before us,” he said. “You think of these people are doing this, they chose that line of work but they’re the ones that are going into the trouble and not running away from it.”

The names of 158 law enforcement officers that died in 2011 were read at last year’s ceremony, including six from Ohio and Warren County Sheriff’s Sgt. Brian Dulle.

According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, one law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty in the United States every 57 hours. Since the first known line-of-duty death in 1791, more than 19,000 law enforcement officers in this country have died on the job.

On Thursday, May 16, the department will hold a private ceremony to honor its own, and issue out four awards: Police Officer, Corrections Officer, Dispatcher and Reserve Officer of the year.

Last year’s award recipients were: Jamie Wilcox, officer of the year; April Lambert, corrections officer of the year; Lynn Crank, dispatcher of the year; and Tony Peck, reserve officer of the year (inaugural award).