Memorial honors fallen police, firefighters

Sally Madsen came to honor her great-grandfather, Officer Robert J. Rusk, a member of the Spokane Police Department who died when two men he had arrested escaped from jail. Rusk was going on a vacation to do some mining up north, and everyone in town knew he was leaving. The two men found Rusk’s campsite and shot him to death on April 22, 1886.

The two suspects later died in prison.

The story has always been a part of Madsen’s family lore since her mother had kept track of Rusk’s history. Madsen said Rusk died when her grandmother was only 2 years old, so the stories they told about Rusk were the ones surrounding his death.

“My mom was a great historian,” Madsen said.

Now, Rusk’s face and name adorn a memorial at Riverside Memorial Cemetery that was unveiled last Thursday as part of National Peace Officer’s Day. He shares the memorial with 41 other police, firefighters and even K-9s who lost their lives in the line of duty.

Sponsored by the Fairmount Memorial Association, the Spokane Police Department History Book Committee and the Spokane Law Enforcement Museum, the memorial features pictures of the officers when they could be located, the date they died on duty and their causes of death.

“These public servants put their lives on the line every day,” said Duane Broyles, president of the Fairmount Memorial Association.

The event included members of various fire and law enforcement departments, including Jeffrey Otis, the Washington State Patrol Dist. 4 commander, Ozzie Knezovich, the Spokane County sheriff, Maj. Gill Moberly of the Spokane Police Department, Jeff Sale, the chief of the Cheney Police Department, Spokane City Fire Chief Bobby Williams, Greg Borg, the president of Firefighters Local 29 and County Commissioner Todd Mielke.

“We hope and pray that we never add more to this memorial,” Williams said to the crowd.

Each name was read along with a brief summary of how they died.

Organizers also tracked down family members of some of the names and they, in turn, stood to be recognized while their lost relatives’ stories were told.

“Never forget the families of our fallen comrades,” Otis said.

The stories of the fallen included those who died in vehicle accidents, gunfire, heart attacks, smoke inhalation, electrocution and falls from great heights.

Of the three K-9 dogs, Blitz, Magic and Blesk, two died after running out in traffic and were hit by cars, and the third, Blesk, was shot during a SWAT raid.

The list included members of the Spokane Police Department, the Spokane Fire Department, the Washington State Patrol, the Sheriff’s Office, the Spokane County Game Commission and the Cheney Police Department. The first death, Deputy Sheriff Horace Stewart, was shot and killed in an attempt to break up a drunken brawl in 1867. The last was Deputy Sheriff James J. Slater, who died from injuries suffered in a vehicle accident in pursuit of a stolen car in the West Plains in 2003.

The memorial is the eighth dedicated by the three groups. There have been memorials for Mary Latham, Spokane’s first female physician; Spokane pioneers Levi and May Hutton; Francis H. Cook, Spokane’s first newspaper publisher; Eugene Hyde, Spokane’s first town marshal and others.

The hope is to make a walking tour of Spokane history through the cemeteries. There are memorials at Fairmount Memorial Park, Riverside Memorial Park Cemetery and Greenwood Memorial Terrace. There are also plans in the works to honor more Spokane pioneers and notable residents.

Speakers at the event last week all mentioned that the officers and firefighters all made the ultimate sacrifice for their community.

The ceremony was concluded with a lone trumpet playing taps.

For Sally Madsen, the event brought her closer, not only to her family history, but to her grandmother and mother who have both died.

She said she felt like they were sitting next to her while she celebrated her family’s history.