Remembering heroes: 23 fallen officers honored in Raleigh

Here

She is Miss Judy

Thank you so much

I personally want to thank you for all that you

have done at this time

I invite everyone to stand with me and please remain

standing for the posting of the colors by our Wake

County multi-agency color guard and remain standing for the national

anthem sung by Raleigh Police Department

Senior Officer Kendall Strong followed by the invocation by Reverend

Sarah Meares

I er

no that's

oh say can you see by the dawn's early light

What so proudly we hail at the twilights and last

gleaming whose broad stripes and bright stars through the pear

road was for the parts we watch were some gling

streaming in the rockets red the bombs bursting

GP pro through the night that a flag was still

there

Who say does that star spangled And we

for the and of the free Yeah

Ok

Mhm

Officer

at this time we will have the invocation by Reverend

Sarah Meares

Ok

Please pray with me loving and gracious God as we

gather together in this sacred hour

We are assured once more of your presence among us

we know that you are with us as you have

been and will always continue to be in moments of

loss and heartache in moments of joy and remembrance in

every mountain top and valley of our lives

You walk beside us

And so we come today asking that you cover us

once more with your mercy grace and love as we

remember and honor those who served and paid the ultimate

sacrifice to care for us and to keep us safe

We are here to honor husbands wives mothers fathers sons

daughters neighbors colleagues and friends

We are grieving but we are thankful oh God for

their lives and the legacies they leave

We are thankful for their service dedication to this community

strength courage and care

Your word reminds us that there is no greater love

than this to lay down one's life for his friends

We are deeply grateful and we will not forget

We ask that you keep their families and friends in

your loving embrace comfort their broken hearts give them peace

that can only come from you guide them in their

grief and help them to feel your presence

May they feel your love and compassion and be encouraged

knowing their loved one's legacy will not be forgotten

May today honor the lives lost and the dedication and

service to this community

And may you be present in every moment leading us

comforting us and challenging us to honor their memories and

sacrifice in every day of our own lives in Jesus

Name we pray

Amen

Thank you Reverend Meares for that very heartfelt prayer

This time you may be seated

It is now my pleasure to introduce our keynote speaker

Attorney General Josh Stein who is both a friend of

to law enforcement and a fierce advocate for justice for

every North Carolinian in our state

Josh Stein was sworn in for his first term as

Attorney General in 2017 and his second term in 2021

he is focused on protecting North Carolina families from crime

and consumer fraud

He diligently works to keep communities safe by recruiting and

retaining well trained law enforcement officers

He also works to keep Children safe online improve data

security and lead a national effort to combat robocalls

Attorney General Stein is also leading efforts to combat the

opioid crisis and bring treatment and recovery resources to North

Carolinians struggling from drug addiction

He is working to make North Carolina's law enforcement and

criminal justice systems fair and fighting the teen vaping epidemic

all the while he's taken measures to protect clean air

and water for our environment

Attorney General Stein previously served as a state senator and

senior deputy attorney general in the North Carolina Department of

Justice

He has led the efforts to put more violent criminals

behind bars by expanding the state's DNA database

He uh he has also wrote the School Safety Act

and the Identify the Identity Theft Protection Act and he

has worked to protect kids from online sexual predators

It is my distinct pleasure and my honor to introduce

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein

Thank you Chief Patterson

Good morning

Everyone I want to recognize and thank uh Sheriff Rowe

Chief Penry uh Reverend Meares and of course Chief Patterson

and we're grateful to Doctor Haley and Hayes Barton Baptist

Church for hosting us this morning

And from the for to the Raleigh Youth Choir who

will be participating shortly

It's an honor to be with you as we remember

heroes who have fallen in the line of duty here

in Wake County to offer our praise and gratitude for

their service to mourn their loss and to stand with

their colleagues and families who've been forced to pay a

heavy toll

Wake County has been my home now for three decades

I love living here

My wife Anna and I have raised our three Children

here

They all went to public schools here

We work and worship here

Our neighbors are kind and thoughtful and I am so

grateful and honored to be able to call Wake County

home

Part of what makes this such a wonderful community is

the commitment of our local police and deputies to keeping

us safe

I thank them for their service to protect the people

of Wake County

We make an enormous ask of peace officers

We ask them to fulfill a high calling which is

to run straight to the very threat that every human

instinct is telling them to go the other way to

go toward the danger so that we and our loved

ones can sleep safely in our homes at night

Our Children can be safe at school or at play

Being a peace officer is hard work dangerous work often

underappreciated work

But my goodness it is important and meaningful work

Every officer makes a choice to enter this field even

though they understand the perils that may lay ahead

But they do so anyway because they are heroes in

life just as some are heroes in death

And unfortunately we've been reminded all too recently of the

sacrifices that some make

We've only just buried the four law enforcement officers we

lost in tragedy in Charlotte

Their loved ones shared memories and painted portraits of officers

who in and out of uniform were stand up

People looked out for others and acted with dignity and

bravery

This past Tuesday we commemorated North Carolina Peace Officer Memorial

Day in Statesville

We recognized four other officers from across the state including

Raleigh Police Department's own Gabriel Jesus Torres

I want to say a word to the family members

here today of the wake County officers who've lost because

we know that fallen officers do not sacrifice alone

You all do as well

You were forced to wake up the next day and

every day after and pick up the pieces of your

lives and move forward without your loved one beside you

I'm incredibly sorry for the losses you've suffered

May the memories of your loved ones be a blessing

to you today and always you played an integral role

in nurturing the flame of service that burned within these

fallen officers

Your support your patience your faith your bravery your love

were sources of strength that supported their bravery and heroism

Thank you from the bottom of my heart

And now it's up to the rest of us to

surround you with the love and support that you so

deserve

I hope and pray that we fulfill this responsibility to

you and to this brotherhood and sisterhood of officers who've

lost friends and coworkers from your ranks

I offer my condolences to you as well

I can't presume to imagine what it must feel like

to lose a colleague in uniform

But I know well what it means to lose someone

you love and care about a friend a colleague a

mentor

I pray that the bonds among you sustain you in

sorrow and in your service and the legacies of those

we've lost con continue to inspire you

Today is a testament to the immense gratitude that we

have for all of you and the sacrifices you make

on this job for the people that you serve and

protect you all are the embodiment of strength and courage

It is right and good to thank and honor you

all

Both the officers here with us today and the officers

we have lost

There is no shortage of challenges facing our communities today

And in almost every instance law enforcement officers are on

the front lines of our community's response to those challenges

We call on them to make a measurable number of

sacrifices as our guardians

And in the most tragic of these circumstances they make

the ultimate sacrifice

No amount of thanks can repay the debt we owe

them

So we must resolve to stand tall and stay strong

to watch out for each other and care for each

other to do our part to make our community safer

and stronger and to live up the le to the

legacies of the fallen

Thank you all

And may God hold you all closely

Thank you Attorney General Stein for those inspiring words and

thank you so much for always being a partner to

law enforcement

At this time

We will have a musical selection from our Raleigh youth

choir

Yeah

Ok

Wow that was wonderful

So good to see our young men singing and doing

something positive at this time

With all law enforcement officers stand with me as we

prepare for the reading of the names of our fallen

heroes guests and family

You may remain seated

I invite all

I invite Wake County Sheriff Willie Rowe to come to

the podium for the roll call of names following the

roll call

Please remain standing for the 21 gun salute and the

playing of taps

Sure fro

ok

Ok

Thomas J Crabtree Raleigh Police Department in the Watch

September 1st 1922

Guy Cecil Massey senior Wake County Sheriff's office

End of March

September 10th 1933

Ok John L Taylor Wake Forest Police Department

End of Watch

May 30th 1944

George C Mitchell Wake Forest Police Department

End of March

April 26th 1947

Robert Earl Sparks Raleigh Police Department end of March March

8th 1968

James Gail Lee Raleigh Police Department end of March December

5th 1968

James Wade Allen Raleigh Police Department end of watch December

5th 1968

Mm Robert Randall East North Carolina State highway patrolled end

of March December 21st 1972

Del Mar D Adams Raleigh Police Department end of Watch

February 3rd 1980

Coen Low Wake Forest Police Department end of March February

26th 1984

We Bayless the third North Carolina State Highway patrol

End of March February 5th 1988

Denise Holden Raleigh Police Department end of March August 4th

1995

William Earl Godwin Marsel Police Department

End of March May 22nd 1997

Paul Andrew Hale Raleigh Police Department end of March July

11th 1997

Charles Radford Paul the third Raleigh Police Department end of

March September 10th 2002 William Franklin James the second Wake

County Sheriff's office end of March September 5th 2003 Phil

Owens Wake County Sheriff's Office End of March October 2nd

2003 Mark Reed Tucker

Wake County Sheriff's office end of March February 12th 2004

and drew Stocks North Carolina State Highway patrol

End of March September 9th 2008 Stephan Maurice Wall

Wake County Sheriff's office end of March April 22nd 2018

Ryan A Hayworth night Dale Police Department

End of March October 17th 2021

NED P by Wake County Sheriff's Office

End of March August 11th 2022

Gabriel Jesus Torres Raleigh Police Department end of March October

13th 2022

K nine Santos Wake County Sheriff's office end of March

May 26th 2023

Ready

Hey no

Hey no

Hey thanks

Yeah

Yeah

Ok

Officers please

We will now have another musical selection from our amazing

Raleigh youth choir

All they are

They Move Me up all they are

Yeah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah H

01

on

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Yeah

Halle

Halle we are there

Go here you know other than God and they do

me up

Yeah we have all that

We have

truly amazing

what a solemn yet joyous occasion

This has been to celebrate the lives of our fallen

brothers sisters and canine partner

Scripture reminds us that in our sufferings there is glory

because suffering produces perseverance perseverance produces character and character encourages

hope

And we know that hope maketh not a shame

Sometimes the truths of these words are difficult to understand

and even consume

But let me assure you that the losses we have

suffered in the deaths of our heroes whose names were

read today are not in vain

Each loss has produced incredible strength and a perseverance that

builds character and hope for a better tomorrow

Subsequently those of us who are still standing have a

responsibility and the awesome privilege of carrying the legacy of

each of the fallen officers by fulfilling what they all

loved so dearly

And that was serving their community

Let us leave today with a renewed energy and desire

to give a little bit more for the betterment of

the whole

We live in a wonderful county where at least the

65 people who are moving here daily thinks that this

region is the finest the state has to offer and

we have a duty to protect and serve with the

same valor enthusiasm integrity and selfless service of our fallen

comrades

The mantle has been passed on to us to continue

the good fight that keeps the scales of justice balanced

to close out this wonderful service

I invite you to stand to your feet for the

benediction by wake Tech police chief Michael Penry and the

retiring of the colors

OK

Scripture reads in Psalm 46

God is our refuge and strength an ever present help

in the time of trouble

Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea

though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake

with surging the Lord Almighty is with us

The God of Jacob is our fortress

Would you pray with me Lord Anytime we lose a

law enforcement officer in the line of duty it seems

like the storms of life rage

It seems as though mountains crumble and seas roar and

um and everything is is out of control

But God you are a refuge and you are our

strength and you are with us and you are our

fortress

So God I pray that in these times uh of

remembrance that you would overwhelm us with comfort and strength

and compassion

Lord for the families of those that have lost loved

ones in the line of duty

I know that some grief comes like waves over and

over and lord I pray that they would seek you

for strength and refuge

We thank you for this opportunity

We have to remember those who gave all in the

in their line of duty

And Lord we will always remember them and recognize them

And may we live out the courage that they lived

before us Lord we love you

It's in jesus' name that we pray

Amen

Opposite

Yeah

Yeah

OK

Thank you for joining us today

And I'd like to extend a special thank you to

our Special Operations Division for putting everything together so well

and so amazingly they had me a little bit worried

but they did a fantastic job

So thank you for that

I do invite you to please remain with us and

in your seats while our guests exit the stage along

with the families of our heroes and then our command

staff and we invite everyone to a special lunch lunch

and reception

We have for the families to support you in your

loss

We our ushers will be available to direct you where

to go for that and family

We really want you to be there with us

So if you are able to stay for that special

luncheon we appreciate it greatly

Thank you all again for being here and God bless

you

Yeah

Ok

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Yeah

Yeah it's ok

Yeah

Yeah

Yeah

Ok