Two law enforcement officers with local ties being added to national monument
The family of a Redstone Township, Fayette County native who died last year on duty as an Ohio police officer will travel to Washington, D.C., this weekend for ceremonies as he becomes one of two local men honored by inclusion on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.
“We are all going to be there. The entire family is invited,” said Lou Johnson-Lee, of Uniontown, sister to Sean Richard Johnson, who died at age 46 on May 19, 2016 during a training exercise for the Hillard Police Department. “It’s definitely an honor that his name will be on a wall in Washington, D.C.”
Johnson and Peter J. Kromer, of New Eagle, Washington County, who was fatally shot at age 31 on Jan. 19, 1915 while working as a constable for Washington County, are among 394 fallen officers whose names are being engraved this year on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, located in the 400-block of E Street, NW., in Judiciary Square.
“Included in this list are the names of 143 officers who were killed in the line of duty in 2016 and 251 officers who were killed in prior years but have been forgotten by time until the Memorial Fund’s research staff and a team of dedicated volunteers found record of their law enforcement service. This year’s vigil will also be dedicated to 75 officers who have died from illnesses related to the search-and-recovery efforts after the September 11 terrorist attacks,” reported a press release for the Memorial Fund.
The Johnson Family will attend the candlelight vigil at 8 p.m. Saturday on the National Mall between Fourth and Seventh streets when this year’s honorees will be formally dedicated.
A press release from the memorial said an estimated 25,00 people are expected for the vigil, a signature event of National Police Week.
The event is streamed free online to those who register at www.UnitedByLight.org.
National Police Week, held through May 20, was established by Congress in 1962, National Police Week pays special recognition to those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others, explained the press release.
The Johnson family will also attend a wreath-laying ceremony on Monday afternoon with Johnson-Lee reporting her brother’s children, Nicholas and Olivia Johnson, of Ohio, will carry a wreath to be placed in front of Johnson’s name.
Johnson-Lee noted her brother died last year during National Police Week. His accidental death occurred during a training exercise for Hillard Police Department’s newly formed motorcycle unit.
Johnson was born May 7, 1970, in Uniontown, a son of Rebecca and the late Louis D. Johnson Jr. He grew up in Brier Hill, Redstone Township. Johnson-Lee said her brother knew as a child he wanted a career in law enforcement, influenced by the work of her father, who worked for several years as a police officer for Redstone Township.
Johnson graduated Brownsville Area High School in 1988 and joined the Air Force for six years, serving in Texas and Nebraska as well as undergoing survival training in Florida before earning an associate’s degree in criminal justice from Columbus State University in Ohio.
He remained in Ohio, working full time as a deputy sheriff with Fairfield County and part-time as a security guard.
In 1990, Johnson began work with the Hilliard Police Department, serving a community just north of Columbus.
He was a decorated member of the Crisis Intervention Team, trained to handle situations involving domestic disputes, hostages and the threat of suicide.
Hundreds of people turned out to watch the funeral procession that included 200 police cars that rode ahead of Johnson’s body and 200 cars behind.
Johnson-Lee said the family, which includes her mother and her siblings Dennis Johnson of Pittsburgh, Kathy Milne of Uniontown and Mark D. Johnson of York, Pennsylvania, “couldn’t be more proud of Sean.”
Kromer had been on the job one month when he was killed in 1915 in the line of duty.
The memorial’s website includes this information: “Constable Kromer was fatally shot when he went to a residence to locate a suspect for whom he had a warrant. When Constable Kromer knocked on the front door, the door was opened and he was shot twice. Four suspects were arrested.”
Steve Groeninger, senior director of communications and marketing for the memorial, explained, “We have research staff who spend a lot of time discovering information about fallen officers. Constable Kromer is an officer fatality that our team discovered when doing research on another fallen officer.”
Dedicated in 1991, the memorial honors federal, state and local law enforcement officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the safety and protection of the nation.
Featuring two, long blue-gray marble walls, the memorial contains the names of more than 20,000 officers, dating back to the first known death in 1791.
More information is available at www.lawmemorial.org.