Peace Officers Memorial Day observed at Steubenville gathering
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STEUBENVILLE -- Local law enforcement officers gathered Monday for Peace Officers Memorial Day, paying tribute to the men and women across the country killed in the line of duty, including 10 in Jefferson County.
Patrolman Jim Marquis, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 1, told the crowd assembled in Fort Steuben Park it had been a tough year for law enforcement: In Washington, D.C, the names of 226 officers who lost their lives in 2022 were added to wall including 64 officers who were killed by gunfire.
"Eleven (them) were ambushed, nine were handling domestic disturbances, eight (were on) suspicious person calls, six were attempting to make an arrest," Marquis said, adding six of the officers were killed during traffic enforcement, five while investigating disturbances calls, four during tactical encounters, four mistaken identity/training accidents, three robbery/burglaries in progress, three serving civil papers, two while serving felony warrants, and one while transporting a prisoner. Two are listed as "other," he added.
Here in Ohio, he said five officers died in the line of duty, including Clark County Sheriff's Deputy Matthew Yates, who was shot when he entered a trailer with another officer after a woman broke in and fired five shots. A standoff with the shooter ensued, trapping Yates in the mobile home for several hours.
Peace Officer Memorial Day is "especially important now," Marquis said, "due to the amount of anti-police rhetoric and the defund the police movements across the country."
"Steubenville and the surrounding counties throughout the Tri-State are fairly safe, due to the dedicated police officers who put the uniform on every day," he said.
Monday's service recalled the 10 police officers in Jefferson County who lost their lives on the job:
— Steubenville Patrolman Leslie McDonald (1908), Patrolman Lafayette Mercer (1914), Patrolman Owen Burns, (1926), Lt. Scott Roe (1928), Patrolman Lenard Lamatrice (1972) and Patrolman Thomas McGough (1972);
— Mingo Junction Patrolman William Snider (1923) and Lt. Michael J Maguschak Sr. (1970);
— Toronto Patrolman Ralph Benton Miller Sr., (1978)
— Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputy Michael Brandle (2015).
"It is important that all citizens know and understand the duties, responsibilities, hazards and sacrifices of their law enforcement agency, and that members of our law enforcement agency recognize their duty to serve the people by safeguarding life and property, by protecting them against violence and disorder, and by protecting the innocent against deception and the weak against oppression," said Sgt Ryan Lulla, reading from the text of the proclamation passed by City Council.
He also read the late Paul Harvey's "Policeman" narrative, which describes law enforcement as "a composite of what all men are, the mingling of a saint and sinner, dust and deity."
"He must be such a diplomat that he can settle differences between individuals so that each will think he won," it read. "... He must make an instant decision which would require months for a lawyer to make ...
"A policeman must know everything and not tell. He must know where all the sin is and not partake. A policeman must, from a single strand of hair, be able to describe the crime, the weapon and the criminal -- and tell you where the criminal is hiding. But ... if he catches the criminal he's lucky; if he doesn't he's a dunce. If he gets promoted, he has political pull; if he doesn't he's a dullard. The policeman must chace a bump lead to a dead-end, stake out 10 nights to tag one witness who saw it happen but refused to remember. The policeman must be a minister, a social worker, a diplomat, a tough guy and a gentleman."
Marquis expressed appreciation to those who helped make the ceremony possible, including Mayor Jerry Barilla, City Manager Jim Mavromatis and Police Chief Ken Anderson, city council, and Commissioner Eric Timmons as well as Steubenville Firefighter Robert Gaffney, who helped arrange for a bagpiper, and Catholic Central Band Director Sam Johnston