Connellsville police department to host memorial service for fallen officers
CONNELLSVILLE — The Connellsville Police Department will join with their fellow officers across the country to pay tribute to those that have lost their lives in the line of duty.
The service will begin at 9 a.m. Friday and take place at Veterans Plaza, adjacent to the city municipal building on Arch Street.
All law enforcement organizations and first responders have been invited to take part in the event.
State Rep. Ryan Warner, R-Perryopolis, will be the keynote speaker for the event.
In 1961, then-President John F. Kennedy signed the Peace Officer Memorial Day legislation into law, designating May 15 as Peace Officer Memorial Day. It coincides with National Police Week.
Connellsville police Chief Jim Capitos said it is appropriate to pause and honor those that have died in the line of duty.
“It’s a tough job and it can be a dangerous job,” he said, pointing to the number of officers that lost their lives in 2014 and the soaring 2015 figures.
Since January, 44 law enforcement officers have died. Several of the recent deaths have occurred when officers were randomly attacked.
In May, two Hattiesburg, Mississippi police department officers were killed while making a traffic stop, while New York City Police Department Det. Brian Moore lost his life to a gunshot wound after he and his partner stopped a suspect who was carrying a weapon.
Incidents in Ferguson, New York and Baltimore, too, have police departments on edge, regardless of their location, added Capitos.
“It seems that as one situation calms down, something else happens and police departments everywhere are scrutinized,” he said. “I remind my officers everyday to make good decisions as we are expected to return home after our shift.”
Since January 2014, seven officers and one canine officer in Pennsylvania have died in the line of duty.
Earlier this month, two area officers died while performing their duties.
Ligonier Township police Lt. Eric A. Eslary, died as the result of a traffic accident while Det. Paul J. Koropal, an investigator with the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office, suffered a heart attack while serving search warrants in Fayette County.
Koropal, 47, was part of a federal narcotics task force working with local authorities during the May 5 incident.
Eslary, was killed May 5 when his patrol SUV was struck head-on by a van driving the wrong direction on Route 30.
Late last year, Perryopolis Borough Police Department Officer Richard A. Champion was killed in a vehicle crash while pursuing a vehicle on Route 51 in Perry Township.
Champion was among the 273 officers remembered Wednesday during a candlelight vigil in Washington, D.C. The ceremony was a part of the National Police Week observance in the nation’s capital.
A second local officer, Joseph Hackney, a former member of the Uniontown Police Department, was also honored at the Washington, D.C. ceremony.
Hackney was shot after he and his partner arrested a suspect for disorderly conduct on Main Street in October, 1884. A shot was fired during a subsequent scuffle hitting Hackney in the leg. He died 10 days later.
Also taking part in the Connellsville ceremony on Friday will be the American Legion Honor Guard, Rev. Barry Witt and Councilman Greg Ritch.
The public is welcome to attend.