Stark County honors law enforcement killed in the line of duty
CANTON, Ohio – Stark County on Friday remembered its law enforcement officers who have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.
The county is observing National Peace Officers Memorial Week by honoring the lives of deputies as well as Canton and Massillon police officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
“It certainly reminds the folks that are here, the law enforcement folks that are here, that but by the grace of God go I, and it could be any one of us each and every day. When we leave the house, we really don’t know whether we will come home safely or not,” said Stark County Sheriff George Maier
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Among those memorialized at Friday’s Ceremony was Deputy Sheriff Richard Harmon who was killed while helping another deputy on Route 43 near Waco.
His patrol car was hit from behind by a drunk driver who left the roadway on September 3, 1981.
“We were proud of my brother who served in the Vietnam conflict in the Air Force and of course then returned to become a deputy sheriff,” said his, brother Tom Harmon, who attended the ceremony.
“The day my brother was killed, having to make that trip to tell your mom that her first born was killed in the line of duty, that’s tough,” said Harmon.
Friday’s ceremony included a role call of those who died while on duty over more than a century.
“These men and women have stood in tested times and faced adversity and have truly given their lives for each and every one of us,” said Pastor George Lancaster, the Canton Police Department Chaplain.
It also comes as officers in Canton and from around the country are under a microscope, their actions and motives second guessed.
“We certainly are under the microscope. That’s OK. That’s OK by me. As a leader, that’s fine. I challenge my people, I train my people to do better each and every day,” said Maier.
“When I hire new people I usually ask them, ‘why are you here? What drives you to want to be here as a future law enforcement officer?’ And for the most part, the answer I get is they want to help people and so I remind them that you have to have that mindset for the next 30 years, you are here to help people, you are here to serve your community.”
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The ceremony also meant to honor the work of those currently in uniform who have followed in the footsteps of those whose sacrifice is being remembered.
“Appreciate those that serve the men and women in any capacity, the highway patrol, the sheriff, municipal police departments, village police, they are there to serve. They are not all perfect, they all have different types of lives and lifestyles, but the bottom line is they are there to protect us and we appreciate that,” said Harmon.
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