Members of Centre County law enforcement agencies and the local community gathered Wednesday at Talleyrand Park in Bellefonte to remember officers nationwide who died in the line of duty and to honor the everyday work of police.
The annual Centre County Peace Officers Memorial coincided with National Peace Officers Memorial Day and National Police Week.
In 2023, 136 state, tribal and local law enforcement officers law enforcement officers in the United States, including five in Pennsylvania, and 25 K-9 partners died in the line of duty.
“They laid down their lives for us, their friends, their colleagues and their communities,” Spring Township Police Chief Adam Salyards said. “May their sacrifices never be forgotten. May their families find comfort in the knowledge that their loved ones are remembered as heroes, and may we always honor their memory by supporting those who continue to serve and protect.”
Following the singing of the national anthem by Pastor Paul McReynolds of Fairbrook United Methodist Church and an invocation by Pastor William Osman of St. John Lutheran Church in Bellefonte, state Sen. Cris Dush, R-Pine Creek Township, delivered keynote remarks.
Dush was a law enforcement specialist and patrolman in the U.S. Air Force and is a retired corrections officers. He said those who serve in law enforcement “are answering a call.”
“The men and women who stand in the gap for everyday people, when they take that oath to support and defend the constitution, to take guard and protect their communities, that’s a blank check,” Dush said. “Every single day they don that uniform, they put on that duty belt and go out into the communities, they’re putting their lives on the line.
“Today, what we’re here for is to honor those who actually have paid that ultimate price, to honor the families of those who have paid that ultimate price.”
Centre County’s Board of Commissioners also declared May 13-18 as this year’s Police Week in Centre County and May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day.
“It is important that all citizens know and understand the duties, responsibilities, hazards and sacrifices of their law enforcement agencies, and that members of our law enforcement agencies recognize their duty to serve the people by safeguarding lives and property, by protecting them against violence and disorder, and protecting the innocent against deception, and the weak against oppression,” Commissioner Mark Higgins said in reading a portion of the proclamation.
Representatives from 10 Centre County law enforcement agencies read the names of each of the officers who died in the line of duty in 2023. Those names included Philadelphia police Sgt. Richard Carrero Mendez, state police Trooper Jacques Felix Rougeau, Jr., Temple University police Sgt. Christopher David Fitzgerald, McKeesport police officer Sean Leonard Sluganski and Brackenridge Borough police Chief Justin Clark McIntire. Each of the five Pennsylvania officers slain in the line of duty last year were killed by gunfire.
The ceremony also included the presentation of a memorial wreath by Kyley Burd of the Centre County Emergency Communications Center and Mark Baney of the Penn University Police and Public Safety Operations Center; a 21-gun salute by the Centre County Law Enforcement Rifle Team; the playing of “Taps” by Dave Strouse of the Bellefonte Community Band; and the playing of “Amazing Grace” by bagpiper John MacMillen. A state Department of Corrections honor guard advanced and retired the colors.
In addition to honoring fallen officers, the memorial was an opportunity to recognize the work of law enforcement day in and day out, Salyards said.
“Every day our law enforcement officers bravely step into the unknown, wholly aware of the dangers that await them,” he said. “They embody the values of honor, integrity and courage, knowing their duty may one day demand the ultimate sacrifice. They do so without hesitation, driven by profound belief in justice, protection of the innocent and defense against evil. The sacrifice of these 161 individuals reflects the selflessness and love for their community.”
