Remembering the Longest Serving Fallen Heroes

Earlier this week I wrote about the 74 fallen officers who were killed during their first day on the job. In that article I referenced the mantra that police work is a calling. Today I want to honor those officers who prove that saying to be true through their extraordinary long service in the law enforcement brotherhood.

Many officers who enter the field look forward to retiring at 20 or 25 years. Some may make it to the 30, or even 35 year mark. But only a very few continue to serve beyond that.

Reserve Deputy Henry Willeford pinned on the badge for the very first time in 1954. Over the next five decades he continued protecting the citizens of Arkansas, while raising a family of 15 children! Just those facts alone show that he was a man who cherished the lives of others. In fact, on June 13, 2002, he had just finished his shift when he encountered an obstruction in the roadway. To prevent other motorists from striking it, he blocked the lane of traffic with his patrol car and attempted to remove it from the roadway. However, he was struck by an oncoming car. He remained bedridden for the next seven years until passing away from his injuries November 16, 2009. With 55 years on the job, Reserve Deputy Willeford is the longest serving lawman known to be killed in the line duty.

In addition to Reserve Deputy Willeford, 40 other peace officers with more than four decades of service are known to have been killed in the line of duty. Combined, these 41 officers had a combined total of 1,755 years of law enforcement service! They are a true testament to the selfless giving all police officers make everyday.

Always remembered...

55 years	Reserve Deputy Sheriff Henry Jorden Willeford	Van Buren County Sheriff's Office, AR
54 years	City Marshal William Matthew Tilghman	Cromwell Police Department, OK
54 years	Investigator Jerry Crabtree	Franklin County Sheriff's Department, TN
51 years	Night Marshal Alexander Dotson Sutton	Pulaski County Sheriff's Department, MO
50 years	Deputy Sheriff John Bell Jones	Hamilton County Sheriff's Department, TN
46 years	Chief of Police W. L. Echols	Van Alstyne Police Department, TX
46 years	Patrolman Timothy Foley	Southington Police Department, CT
44 years	Police Officer Thomas M. Knevet	Hartford Police Department, CT
44 years	Chief of Police Alvis F. (Tuffy) Maddox	Childress Police Department, TX
44 years	City Marshal William E. Kelly	Oxnard Police Department, CA
43 years	Deputy Sheriff Paul Steven Habelt	Henderson County Sheriff's Department, TX
43 years	State Constable Robert Lee Bailey	South Carolina State Constable, SC
43 years	Lieutenant David T. Dunigan	Metropolitan Police Department, DC
43 years	Police Officer Thomas F. Steinacker	Baltimore City Police Department, MD
43 years	Lieutenant James F. Day	Chicago Police Department, IL
42 years	Chief of Police Jeremiah Joseph Murphy	Butte Police Department, MT
42 years	Special Deputy Marshal Stanley W. Cooper	United States Department of Justice - Marshals Service, US
42 years	Sheriff Joel L. Powers	Goochland County Sheriff's Office, VA
41 years	Deputy Sheriff Dave H. Jennings Jr.	Tallahatchie County Sheriff's Department, MS
41 years	Police Officer Norman Stinger	Philadelphia Police Department, PA
41 years	Patrolman Wilbert Wiggins Sr.	Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, FL
41 years	Chief of Police Richard Allen Brush	Point Comfort Police Department, TX
41 years	Police Officer Henry L. Eichelberger	St. Louis Police Department, MO
41 years	Town Marshal Jack O'Leary	Rapid City Police Department, SD
40 years	Corporal Edward Roy Davenport	Long Beach Police Department, CA
40 years	Chief of Police Sheridan O. Caton	Elk Lick Township Police Department, PA
40 years	Sergeant Patrick Ryan	Cleveland Police Department, OH
40 years	Chief of Police Walter Brannon Braswell	Fremont Police Department, NC
40 years	Chief of Police James Leonard Speer	Calipatria Police Department, CA
40 years	Bureau Chief Charles Mills	New York State Office of Tax Enforcement - Petroleum, Alcohol and Tobacco Bureau, NY
40 years	Patrolman Howard William Eye	Calais Police Department, ME
40 years	Constable David Thomas Palmer	Pumpkin Center Police Department, OK
40 years	County Policeman William Lee Cape	Pickens County Police Department, GA
40 years	Deputy Sheriff William C. Jackson	Trinity County Sheriff's Department, CA
40 years	Deputy Robert Bruce Parsons	Denton County Sheriff's Office, TX
40 years	Constable Hans R. Gassaway	Barren County District One Constable's Office, KY
40 years	Town Sergeant John Smith	Foster Police Department, RI
40 years	Sergeant John Cronin	Chicago Police Department, IL
40 years	Special Deputy Stephen Joseph Hahn	Eau Claire County Sheriff's Office, WI
40 years	Chief Deputy Sheriff George Miller Edwards	Union Parish Sheriff's Department, LA
40 years	Assistant Chief of Police Henry Brinkmeyer	Middletown Police Department, OH

Do you know of any officers I missed? If so, please post the information in the comment form below.

Killed in the Line of Duty on the First Day On the Job

Ask any law enforcement officer and they'll tell you that police work is a calling.

Although the men and women who accept this calling may have a few bumps and bruises at the end, the overwhelming majority of LEOs will be able to make it through their career to retirement. Unfortunately, however, 74 officers who started their careers were killed within hours of hitting the streets for the first time.

Officer Melvin Collins

The first, Deputy Sheriff Wesley Cherry, was shot and killed in 1853 while riding on a posse to arrest murder suspects in King County, Washington. He died the day after being shot.

The most recent incident occurred in 2003 when Officer Melvin Collins was shot and killed while working an off-duty security job at a local store in Brunswick, Georgia. Officer Collins had been sworn in three days earlier and hadn't even gone on his first shift when he was slain enforcing the law.

We salute the following 74 officers who gave the ultimate sacrifice on their first day on the job:

Deputy Sheriff Wesley Cherry	King County Sheriff's Office, WA	1853-03-06
Deputy Charles Daly	Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, CA	1857-01-23
Deputized Civilian William Barbee	Burleson County Constable's Office - Precinct 3, TX	1857-05-24
Special Patrolman Thomas Sparks	New York Metropolitan Police Force, NY	1857-07-09
Deputy Constable Richard Ryan	Ophir City Constable's Office, NV	1867-08-31
Deputized Civilian Walter Williams	Storey County Sheriff's Department, NV	1868-07-18
Deputy Sheriff James McMahan	Dallas County Sheriff's Department, TX	1871-01-16
Deputized Civilian David Harvell	Nacogdoches County Constable's Office, TX	1871-12-14
Deputy Sheriff John Morgan	Bosque County Sheriff's Office, TX	1874-12-02
Deputy Sheriff Parker Morgan	Bosque County Sheriff's Office, TX	1874-12-02
Deputy Sheriff James Godley	Anderson County Sheriff's Department, TX	1874-12-13
Special Agent Robert Widdowfield	Union Pacific Railroad Police Department, RR	1878-08-19
Deputy Sheriff Marion Robertson	Erath County Sheriff's Office, TX	1879-03-29
Deputy Sheriff John Ross	Erath County Sheriff's Office, TX	1879-03-29
Deputy Constable William Ash	Terre Haute Police Department, IN	1880-11-27
Special Deputy Sheriff Samuel Meredith	Cooke County Sheriff's Department, TX	1881-05-30
Special Deputy Sheriff Charles Meredith	Cooke County Sheriff's Department, TX	1881-05-30
Deputized Civilian William Fletcher	Brazos County Sheriff's Department, TX	1883-01-15
Posseman James Lathrop	Houston County Sheriff's Department, TX	1884-01-09
Deputy Sheriff John Gardener	Dubois County Sheriff's Department, IN	1885-06-01
Sheriff Benjamin Irey	Chester County Sheriff's Office, PA	1887-01-03
Deputy Sheriff William Cox	Dubois County Sheriff's Department, IN	1887-05-23
Deputized Civilian Jasper Coghlan	Wise County Sheriff's Department, TX	1888-09-08
Posseman Peter Anderson	Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office, OK	1890-12-26
Deputized Civilian John Bowers	Tyler County Sheriff's Office, TX	1891-03-18
Deputy Sheriff Joe Brigham	Hunt County Sheriff's Office, TX	1892-12-18
Deputy Sheriff Jesse Hendrickson	Grant County Sheriff's Department, OK	1893-11-11
Deputy Constable James Foster	Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office, AL	1895-04-13
City Marshal John Howard	Oklahoma City Police Department, OK	1896-03-10
Deputy Sheriff R. Williams	Gilpin County Sheriff's Department, CO	1896-04-19
Special Deputy Sheriff Jack Allen	Gallatin County Sheriff's Department, MT	1897-01-24
Deputized Civilian Oscar Breaux	Texas Rangers, TX	1898-08-29
Deputy Constable John Lenhart	Somerset County Sheriff's Office, PA	1898-09-18
Special Constable Malachi Beasley	Princess Anne County Sheriff's Office, VA	1898-09-24
Deputy Sheriff William Kremer	Volusia County Sheriff's Department, FL	1898-12-10
Deputy Constable Marvin Durham	Lauderdale County Constable's Office, TN	1900-01-09
Patrolman George Pickett	Pine Bluff Police Department, AR	1901-04-28
Deputy Sheriff George Leftwich	Jack County Sheriff's Department, TX	1901-08-10
Posseman Charles Hill	Valley County Sheriff's Department, MT	1903-06-15
Deputized Civilian Norton Moody	Nacogdoches County Sheriff's Department, TX	1906-03-31
Deputy Marshal Forest Perry	Kennewick Police Department, WA	1906-11-01
Deputized Civilian James Burk	Big Spring Police Department, TX	1907-04-25
Deputized Civilian Dock McDavid	Bastrop County Constable's Office - Precinct 8, TX	1908-08-08
Deputized Civilian John Brooks	Knox County Sheriff's Office, KY	1908-12-22
Special Deputy Sheriff Hillen Munson	Brazoria County Sheriff's Department, TX	1909-09-15
Constable Jay Close	Dundee Police Department, NY	1910-12-24
Policeman Edward Hogle	Nevada State Police, NV	1911-02-26
Deputy Sheriff Abe Schneider	St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, FL	1911-03-05
Deputy Constable William Blake	Shasta County Sheriff's Department, CA	1911-11-25
Deputy Sheriff Arthur Taylor	Harris County Sheriff's Department, TX	1914-05-24
Marshal William Smith	San Fernando Police Department, CA	1914-12-22
Posseman John Garritson	Delaware Marshal's Office, OK	1917-01-06
Deputy Sheriff Orson McRae	Cochise County Sheriff's Department, AZ	1917-07-12
Officer Eugene Lucas	Conshohocken Police Department, PA	1917-08-13
Police Officer Richard Diamond	Detroit Police Department, MI	1917-08-18
Officer Sterling Warren	Fort Worth Police Department, TX	1919-05-07
Special Deputy William Engel	Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Department, IN	1919-08-13
Special Officer Webster Gentry	Fort Worth Police Department, TX	1922-04-25
Deputy Sheriff Floyd Rose	Millard County Sheriff's Office, UT	1922-10-02
Rural Police Officer John Fesperman	Mecklenburg County Police Department, NC	1924-02-16
Marshal Henry Hamm	Mulberry Police Department, AR	1924-09-01
Deputy Sheriff Daniel Hutchison	Craig County Sheriff's Office, VA	1926-07-19
Special Deputy Sheriff Leonard Cummings	Lemhi County Sheriff's Department, ID	1928-01-02
Special Deputy Sheriff Billy Withington	Lemhi County Sheriff's Department, ID	1928-01-02
Special Constable James Broome	Dallas County Constable's Office - Precinct 7, TX	1929-12-15
Motorcycle Officer C. Bazzell	Pensacola Police Department, FL	1932-03-16
Special Deputy Sheriff Andrew McGinnis	Muskogee County Sheriff's Office, OK	1932-09-18
Officer James Thornton	St. Petersburg Police Department, FL	1937-10-16
Deputy Sheriff Eduardo Dominguez	Conejos County Sheriff's Department, CO	1940-04-11
Police Officer Henry Scarborough	Myrtle Beach Police Department, SC	1949-03-07
Patrolman Daniel Furtado	Massachusetts State Police, MA	1950-10-08
Patrolman Steven Poetker	Waldo Police Department, AR	1976-04-16
Patrolman Julius Courville	Henderson Police Department, LA	1978-08-26
Officer Melvin Collins	Brunswick Police Department, GA	2003-04-11

Free LODD Response Training Planned for New Jersey, California

Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (US DOJ) have announced two free training seminars for law enforcement agencies in New Jersey and California. These one day training courses will cover the federal Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program, state-specific line of duty death benefits, and the programs made available through C.O.P.S.
  

How will this training benefit you?

When a public safety officer is killed in the line of duty, it is the responsibility of the employing agency to file a death benefit claim with the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program (PSOB), Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. If approved as a line-of-duty death by PSOB, a tax-exempt death benefit payment is paid to “eligible survivors”. The PSOB presentation will explain the paperwork needed to file a claim, definitions for terms in the eligibility criteria and the process used to review claims. California and New Jersey provide benefits to survivors of fallen public safety officers, and these benefits will also be covered.

C.O.P.S. has programs for all categories of law enforcement survivors to help them along the journey they must take through the grief process. Information on C.O.P.S. will be valuable to law enforcement officers, benefits assistance personnel with the agencies, and law enforcement families.

Speakers at both events will include Hope Janke, Director of Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program (US DOJ) and Jennifer Thacker, Director of National Outreach (C.O.P.S.). Jennifer is also the surviving spouse of Kentucky ABC Investigator Brandon Thacker, slain in the line of duty on April 16, 1998. I have worked closely with both Hope and Jennifer and can personally attest to their commitment to helping survivors.

DO NOT wait until your agency suffers a line of duty death to learn about these benefits, because after the event occurs is too late. If you are in Californian or New Jersey register for this free training today. Registration forms are available below:

New Jersey
Monday, November 1, 2010. 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM.
New Jersey Forensic Science Technology Center, Auditorium
1200 Negron Drive
Hamilton, NJ 08691

Deadline for registration is October 15, 2010.
Online registration is available at www.nationalcops.org
(or download flier)

California
Monday, December 6, 2010. 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM.
Orange County Sheriff's Training Academy
15991 Armstrong Avenue
Tustin, CA 92782

Deadline for registration is November 17, 2010.
Online registration is available at www.nationalcops.org
(or download flier)