Fallen officers honored during end of watch event

Aug. 3—A nonprofit on a cross-country tour to honor fallen officers swung into Toledo for several hours Tuesday in memory of Toledo police Officer Anthony Dia.

Beyond the Call of Duty, based in Washington state, came to Toledo police headquarters in the Safety Building downtown for its second-annual End of Watch Ride to Remember. A motorcycle escort led a pickup truck pulling a 41-foot trailer bearing the photos of 339 officers killed in the line of duty in 2020.

"It's just another remembrance, another way we can help honor Anthony's sacrifice," Chief George Kral said. "It's really sobering when you see a trailer this long with pictures on both sides of fallen officers. It shows you how dangerous this profession is and the sacrifices that these men and women gave for us."

Shortly after midnight July 4, 2020, Officer Dia, 26, responded to a call about an intoxicated man in the Home Depot parking lot on Alexis Road. As the officer approached, 57-year-old Edward Henry walked away before turning and firing a single shot from a handgun. The bullet struck Officer Dia in an underarm area not protected by his protective vest.

Officer Dia succumbed to the injury, and Henry was soon found in a nearby wooded area dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Jagrut "JC" Shah, founder and chairman of the nonprofit, said the ride is paid for by sponsors and donors, while donations collected along the journey are given back to fallen officers' families and departments. Last year, the group raised $38,000.

This year, the group is traveling about 24,000 miles and visiting 194 departments. The ride began in late May and ends Aug. 18. Mr. Shah said meeting the families of fallen officers is "somber and humbling" because words alone are never enough.

"We just hold them, hug them, let them know that they're loved," he said.

Officer Dia's family attended the event, including his wife, two young sons, and parents. Jayme Dia, his widow, said her husband's death "still doesn't feel real, almost like he's just one day going to walk in the door."

"I like to know that it's been a year and people are still thinking about him, talking about him, doing stuff to honor him. I love it," she said. "I'd rather honor him and talk about him and celebrate his life and his sacrifice, and I think this is an awesome way to do it."

Also on the trailer this year is a photo of Monroe County Deputy Darrian Young, 24, an animal control officer who died in June, 2020, after a drunken driver slammed into her vehicle. Michele A. Dropulich, 47, of Hudson, Mich., recently pleaded no contest to a second-degree murder charge in Monroe County Circuit Court. She is scheduled for sentencing Aug. 26.

Mr. Shah said the group plans to return to Toledo again for next year's memorial ride. The trailer will then have a photo of Officer Brandon Stalker, who was shot and killed in the 2200 block of Fulton Street when a barricaded suspect emerged after a two-hour standoff firing two handguns at police. Christopher Harris, 27, who had been identified as the suspect in an arson and vandalism incident earlier in the day at historic Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral, was shot and killed by other officers' return fire.

"Sadly, they're coming back next year and I hopefully will never see this trailer parked on this street ever again," Chief Kral said.

First Published August 3, 2021, 2:36pm