Memorial honors Washington law enforcement, Moore

Grief and respect transcended borders Tuesday, as the annual event memorializing fallen Washington state law enforcement officers adopted a broader look at the job given recent events in Coeur d’Alene and elsewhere.

“I was going to start this morning’s speech by paying tribute to the 126 law enforcement officers that lost their lives in the U.S. during 2014. I was then going to find a way, perhaps, to celebrate that none of those officers came from the great state of Washington,” said Spokane police Assistant Chief Rick Dobrow. “That was a brief, but very selfish thought. How could I possibly think of just Washington, when our brother in Idaho, Sgt. Greg Moore, gave his life just over a week ago?”

Tuesday’s ceremony, which added to the memorial outside the Spokane County Courthouse the names of two officers who died in the line of duty early in the 20th century, was held in the midst of an increase in law enforcement officer deaths, according to numbers released by the FBI this week. Speakers, including Dobrow, Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich and Chelan County Sheriff Brian Burnett, urged a crowd who gathered beneath mostly cloudy skies to reflect on the risks officers take to keep their communities safe.

“Challenge yourself to say what kind of difference can I make in their lives, because it might be you or your family members that are left behind, and they paid the ultimate sacrifice,” Burnett said, before introducing the descendants of Chelan County Deputy Sheriff James M. Bennett, who died of an accidental gunshot wound in July 1911 while dismounting his horse to get a drink from a local spring.

Knezovich introduced the family of William D. Nelson, a Spokane police officer and jailer who died after being ambushed by an inmate in the jail on March 19, 1920.

“It’s up to us to make sure their memories are always honored and respected,” Knezovich said.

Dobrow finished his comments with a request for a moment of silence to honor Moore, and a reminder that communities and officers are working together to achieve a safe place to live.

“Reality check folks, those people are good,” Dobrow said, referring to the officers who died in the line of duty across the country last year. “We are not at war with the communities we serve.”

A candlelight vigil will be held at 8 tonight at the memorial outside the courthouse, 1116 W. Broadway Ave.