Memorial will be dedicated
The Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Project will dedicate its new, larger memorial in its new home during a ceremony Tuesday at 11:30 a.m.
Every May, the many peacekeeping agencies commemorate Law Enforcement Memorial Day and honor their fallen comrades. The national day is May 15, but the ceremony in Spokane is held early so family members can attend various events, including a memorial in Olympia.
The Spokane memorial includes the names of 290 fallen officers. They died as early as 1854, and the most recent was Deputy Michael Estes of the Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Office. He died in February of injuries suffered in an automobile accident.
Tuesday’s ceremony will begin with a roll call of all names engraved on the shrine that now sits in the cul-de-sac just east of the Public Safety Building.
Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich and Spokane Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick will speak after the colors have been presented and prayers have been read.
The Angus Scot Pipe Band will play “Amazing Grace,” and the ceremony will conclude with taps.
A reception will follow.
According to Lt. Gary Smith of the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office and chairman of the project, the new monument cost $80,000 to $85,000. The money was raised from donations, and the project is seeking more funds for maintenance.
Two officers kneeling in honor and remembrance are engraved on the front of the granite monument. The engraving was done free of charge by the Fairmount Memorial Association from pictures of Smith in his sheriff’s uniform and Patrolman First Class Sue Mann of the Spokane Police Department.
The two figures represent male and female officers and the different law-enforcement agencies.
White Water Construction put the monument together, Denny Christenson & Associates designed the shrine and the granite work was done by Wilbert Precast. Each granite slab weighs around 300 pounds, and it took two men to lift them into place.
The plaque dedicating the original monument was moved to the new site, and many of the original granite slabs were used as well.
When Spokane police detective Brian Orchard was killed during an undercover operation in 1983, no local memorial existed to honor his service to the community.
In fact, no memorial existed anywhere in Washington state to honor law enforcement officials who had died in the line of duty.
So, the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Project was formed. In 1987, a memorial was unveiled to honor every officer killed in the line of duty from any agency in the state, whether city, county, state or federal.
It was the only monument of its kind until 2005, when the monument in Olympia was unveiled.
According to Smith, space on the Spokane memorial began to run out in 2003. Names had been added over the years because more officers were killed and because historians uncovered names of other officers who had been forgotten over time.
It was decided to construct a bigger monument.
“Hopefully, we’re good for a long time,” Smith said.
He said he also is interested in working with fire departments to build a memorial for the various firefighting agencies. He hopes to eventually make the grassy area next to the Public Safety Building into a memorial mall.