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Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. PO Box 10776 Oklahoma City, OK 73140-1776 www.oklemem.com For Immediate Release- March 23, 2007 New Oklahoma Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Oklahoma was the first state to build a memorial honoring all law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty in that state. Oklahoma’s memorial honors all officers who died in the line of duty both before and after statehood. Almost half of all the Deputy U. S. Marshals killed in the United States to date died in what is now the state of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Peace Officers Memorial was built on the west grounds of the new Headquarters of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety and was dedicated on May 15, 1969. Annual Memorial Services have been conducted each May since. Almost 40 years of Oklahoma weather has taken a toll on the flower beds and plaza of the memorial. There is no close parking and no close refuge for those attending the annual outside service during rainy weather. For these and other reasons Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc., (O.L.E.M.), the organization that oversees the memorial and hosts the annual service, is looking for monetary donations and land to build a new state law enforcement memorial and museum. O.L.E.M. is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization with its Board of Directors made up of representatives from eight Oklahoma law enforcement organizations. To donate or for further information on the Memorial or Oklahoma’s fallen law enforcement officers go to the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial web site at www.oklemem.com or call (405) 619-2066. |
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For Immediate Release Oklahoma to Honor Law Enforcement Officers
At 10:00 A.M. on Friday, May 11, 2007, Oklahoma will again take time out to honor the service and sacrifices of its law enforcement officers during the 39th Annual Oklahoma Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Service at the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial located on the west grounds of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety Headquarters at N.E. 36th Street and M. L. King Avenue in Oklahoma City. Three new names will be dedicated on the memorial that morning. They are: Peter Anderson, Posseman, Deputy Sheriff, Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office shot and killed early the morning of December 26, 1890, while assisting with an arrest warrant. Drumright Police Officer Ulysses S. Lenox was shot and killed July 2, 1924, as he and other officers in a car were searching for bank robbers. The officer’s car passed the robber’s car on the road and as they did, the robbers opened fire on the officers killing Lenox. Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper William L. McClendon, who died in a traffic accident on October 1, 2006, as he attempted to make a turn around on the Will Rogers Turnpike near Claremore. Lt. Governor Jari Askins will be the key note speaker and the band “Black Jack Run” will provide the live music and songs for this centennial year memorial service by singing the songs that might have been sung at such a service in 1907. National Police Week will be Sunday, May 13th thru Saturday, May 19th this year. Governor Brad Henry has ordered all flags in the state to be flown at half staff on Tuesday, May 15th, National Peace Officers Memorial Day. All churches are asked to say a special prayer on Sunday, May 13th, as we start Police Week, for all law enforcement officers and their families, especially the 145 officers who died in the line of duty in the United States in 2006. Two of those officers died in Oklahoma. For further information on the service and all of Oklahoma’s fallen law enforcement officers see the Memorial’s web site at www.oklemem.com or contact Memorial Chairman, Dennis Lippe at (405) 619-2066. |
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Oklahoma law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. PO Box 10776 Oklahoma City, OK 73140-1776 www.oklemem.com For Immediate Release 13 Oklahoma Officers to be Honored Although Oklahoma survived 2007 without a single law enforcement line of duty death, the names of thirteen officers who died in the line of duty in Oklahoma in years past will be added to the National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial in Washington, D.C. in May. The names will be dedicated on the memorial at Judiciary Square during the 20th Annual Candle Light Vigil the evening of Tuesday, May 13th. The 13 fallen officers being added are: Haileyville Police Officer Richard D. Bell shot in the face and killed as he entered a house on a disturbance call October 6, 1909. Wister City Marshal Robert T. Blassingame was shot as he approached two men on the Wister railway platform on June 17, 1928. Marshal Blassingame was able to return fire and killed one of the men as the other escaped. Marshal Blassingame died from his wound to the stomach three weeks later on July 3rd in a Fort Smith, AR hospital. Captain Charles W. Bowman of the Muskogee Police Department died just after midnight the morning of June 6, 1927, from a severed artery a few minutes after he was shot in the leg by his own gun as he approached two men sleeping in a car in a closed filling station with his gun drawn. One of the drunken men kicked Captain Bowman’s hand causing his gun to discharge striking him in the leg. Lampasas County (Texas) Deputy Sheriff George M. Doolittle was shot and killed January 8, 1879, near Lexington, Indian Territory (OK) as he attempted to arrest 29 year old Buford Cox for a murder that occurred in Texas. Deputy Doolittle is believed to be buried in an unmarked grave near Lexington. Oklahoma County Deputy Sheriff Levi A. Ezzell died Monday evening August 24, 1914, after he was shot in the abdomen by his own .45 caliber pistol. Deputy Ezzell was taking 17 year old Warren Mankin to jail for stealing bicycles when Mankin broke loose and started running east down an alley south of Main Street west of Hudson. Deputy Ezzell drew his gun and threw it at the escaping youth. When the gun stuck the pavement it discharged striking Ezzell. Deputy Ezzell made a statement before he died of how he was shot, clearing Mankin. Jefferson County Deputy Sheriff Louis M. Harvill and Grayson Township Constable William A. Hood were both shot as they walked between two parked cars about 10 P.M. the evening of Saturday, January 28, 1928. Deputy Harvill died within the hour. Constable Hood died five days later on February 2, 1928. Muskogee Police Officer Leslie Jennings was issuing a traffic ticket the late evening of July 14, 1924, when he was struck by another car and knocked twenty feet striking his head on the pavement. Officer Jennings died early the next morning on July 15th. Braggs Constable Wicks and Deputy Constable George Johnson Kirk trailed three train robbers and caught up to them on June 18, 1909. When the Constables attempted to arrest the men a fight ensued and Deputy Constable Kirk was shot in the head and killed. Love County Sheriff Sam H. Randolph was in a Thackerville store about 6 P.M. May 25, 1934, campaigning for re-election when Constable John Smith approached him complaining that he was not given proper credit for arresting a murder suspect earlier. During the heated argument Sheriff Randolph slapped Constable Smith. Smith drew his gun and shot Sheriff Randolph in the heart killing him instantly. Ada Police Officers Hughey L. Rogers and Luther Prince were advised of an armed man names Weems being in an Ada hotel about 5 P.M. the evening of November 4, 1926. When the officers confronted Weems he pulled a gun. Officer Rogers and Weems fought during which both were shot several times. Officer Rogers died instantly. Weems died a few hours later. Byars Police Officer Elijah C. Smith came upon a business burglary in progress while making his nightly rounds about 2:30 A.M. June 27, 1937. The burglar(s) shot the 68 year old officer in the left side with a shot gun killing him. Creek County Deputy Sheriff Thomas E. Tyus had gone to a home in Bristow to serve court papers the evening of July 19, 1911. When no one was home he went to a neighbor’s porch to wait. He apparently fell asleep on the porch. Later about 2:15 A.M. when the neighbor woman saw someone asleep on her porch she slipped out a back door and got the city’s Night Watchman W. A. Ryder. When Ryder attempted to awaken Deputy Tyus a fight broke out and Ryder shot and killed the deputy. Neither officer recognized the other as an officer in the dark. For more information on these and the other almost 700 law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty in Oklahoma go to the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial web site at www.oklemem.com |
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Oklahoma law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. PO Box 10776 Oklahoma City, OK 73140-1776 www.oklemem.com For Immediate Release State to Honor 6 Fallen Officers On Friday morning, May 9th, at 10 A.M. Oklahoma will take time out to honor the service and sacrifices of its law enforcement officers with the Fortieth Annual Oklahoma Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial Service. The service will be conducted at the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial located on the west grounds of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, 3600 N. M. L. King Avenue in Oklahoma City. Key note speaker for the service will be Sheldon J. Sperling, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. Six officer’s names will be dedicated on the states memorial during the service. They are: Braggs Deputy Constable George Johnson Kirk along with Constable Wicks trailed three train robbers and caught up to them on June 18, 1909. When the Constables attempted to arrest the men a fight ensued and Deputy Constable Kirk was shot in the head and killed. Oklahoma County Deputy Sheriff Levi A. Ezzell died Monday evening August 24, 1914, after he was shot in the abdomen by his own .45 caliber pistol. Deputy Ezzell was taking 17 year old Warren Mankin to jail for stealing bicycles when Mankin broke loose and started running east down an alley south of Main Street west of Hudson. Deputy Ezzell drew his gun and threw it at the escaping youth. When the gun stuck the pavement it discharged striking Ezzell. Deputy Ezzell made a statement before he died of how he was shot, clearing Mankin. Jefferson County Deputy Sheriff Louis M. Harvill and Grayson Township Constable William A. Hood were both shot as they walked between two parked cars about 10 P.M. the evening of Saturday, January 28, 1928. Deputy Harvill died within the hour. Constable Hood died five days later on February 2, 1928. Latimer County Deputy Sheriff Dustin S. Duncan was driving to his home in Wister having just completed a twelve hour shift and was killed when his patrol car went left of center and struck a pick up just before 6 a.m. on Monday, February 4, 2008. Deputy Duncan had only been with the Latimer County Sheriff’s Office three months having joined the previous October but had been a law enforcement officer for seven years prior serving with the Wister Police Department and the Le Flore County Sheriff’s Office. Chickasaw Ligthorse Police Department Special Agent Robert P. Flickinger was killed about 7:55 P.M. on Friday, March 7, 2008, when he attempted to pass another vehicle and collided with a pickup on State Highway 199 just east of Madill in Marshall County. Robert Flickinger had been in law enforcement for sixteen years. He joined the Chickasaw Lighthorse Police Department on September 27, 2004, as a uniformed officer and was promoted to Special Agent on October 15, 2007. For more information on these or any of the other almost 700 law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty in Oklahoma go to the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial web site at www.oklemem.com or contact memorial Chairman, Dennis L. Lippe. |
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Oklahoma law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. PO Box 10776 Oklahoma City, OK 73140-1776 www.oklemem.com For Immediate Release Oklahoma’s Fallen Officers to be Honored On Friday morning May 8th Oklahomans will take time out to honor the service and sacrifices of their law enforcement officers. The Forty-first Annual Oklahoma Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial Service will be conducted at 10 A.M. at the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial located on the west grounds of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety Headquarters, 3600 N. M. L. King Avenue in Oklahoma City. Key note speaker will be Lt. Governor Jari Askins. Six fallen officers’ names will be dedicated during the service. The new additions to the state’s memorial are: Deputy U. S. Marshal Herbert M. Goddard shot and killed August 13, 1900, near Goodwater in McCurtain County; Madill City Marshal J. T. Pratt shot and killed November 6, 1910; Bristow Deputy Constable G. Ralph Ellis shot and killed November 7, 1915; Altus Police Officer John H. Hill shot and killed September 7, 1934; Kiefer Police Sergeant Leslie E. Wilmott died in a traffic accident May 29, 2008; Oklahoma City Police Sergeant Robert C. Douglas died September 28, 2008, from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident July 26, 2003. These six officer’s names as well as those of eight other officers who died in the line of duty during the last five years will be read during the “Roll Call of Heroes” portion of the memorial service. As the officer’s names are read members of their families or a representative escorted by an officer will place a rose on the memorial wreath. With the addition of the six new names there are 646 officer’s names engraved on the memorial. For more information see the memorial’s web site at www.oklemem.com For more information contact Memorial Chairman Dennis Lippe by pager at (405) 530-1969. |
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Oklahoma law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. PO Box 10776 Oklahoma City, OK 73140-1776 www.oklemem.com For Immediate Release 19 Oklahoma Fallen Officers to be Honored Oklahoma lost four (4) law enforcement officers in the line of duty in 2008. Three (3) of their names will be engraved on the National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial in Washington, D.C. in May. In addition the names of sixteen (16) other officers who died years earlier in the line of duty in what is today the state of Oklahoma will be added to the national memorial. The names will be dedicated on the national memorial at Judiciary Square during the 21th Annual Candle Light Vigil the evening of Wednesday, May 13th. The nineteen (19) fallen officers being added from Oklahoma are: Sherman Russell, Deputy US Marshal – July 12, 1893. Ben J. Higbee, City Marshal, Coyle, I.T. – February 1, 1904. Anderson Lewis, Sheriff, Gains County (Pittsburg Co), I.T. – November 17, 1905. George Loney, Deputy Sheriff, Okfuskee County – May 2, 1911. Fred Hollingsworth, Deputy Sheriff, Washita County – July 12, 1915. G. Ralph Ellis, Deputy Constable of Bristow - November 7, 1915. Henry L. Harper, Deputy Sheriff, Harmon County – September 14, 1919. Berry Jones, Sheriff, Okfuskee County - February 14, 1920.
Robert W. Arnold, Deputy Sheriff, Osage County – December 14, 1924. David Samuel Robertson, Deputy Sheriff, Seminole Co/ Constable, Wolf – Dec 11, 1929. Tom Hood, Deputy Sheriff, Sequoyah County – March 27, 1933. William F. Jones, Constable, Frederick – July 15, 1934. Charles Warner, Deputy US Marshal – May 23, 1935. William C. Turner, Guard Foreman, Oklahoma Department of Corrections – July 18, 1935. Thearel M. Johnson, City Marshal, Wister – June 30, 1950. Dustin Shawn Duncan, Deputy Sheriff, Latimer County – February 4, 2008. Leslie Wilmott, Sergeant, Kiefer Police Department – May 29, 2008. Robert Craig Douglas, Oklahoma City Police Department – September 28, 2008. Dennis Lippe, Chairman of the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial organization said “we continue to research the line of duty deaths of law enforcement officers both before and after statehood. We continue to find new officers that we were not aware of as we research.” “We are also looking for family members of any of Oklahoma’s fallen officers in hopes of receiving more information on their officer.” “We can not have too much information in a fallen officer’s memorial file.” To contact the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial or for more information on fallen officers and the state’s memorial go the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial web site at www.oklem.com or call (405) 619-2066. For more information contact Memorial Chairman Dennis Lippe by pager at (405) 530-1969. |
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Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. P.O. Box 10776 Oklahoma City, OK 73140-1776 PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Twenty-three (23) law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty in what is today the state of Oklahoma will be added to the National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial in Washington, D.C. and dedicated during the annual Candle Light Vigil conducted at the memorial the evening of May 13th. Those fallen officers being added are: Deputy U. S. Marshal John Zeke was shot and killed February 15, 1872, making an arrest at Muskogee. L County (Grant Co) Deputy Sheriff Jesse W. Hendrickson was shot and killed making an arrest November 11, 1893, near the town of Pond Creek. Deputy U. S. Marshal Herbert M. Goddard died August 14, 1900, after being shot the night before making an arrest in Goodwater in McCurtain County. Logan County Jailer Jerry D. Emerson was shot and killed during a county jail break on May 14, 1903. Bartlesville Special Officer Isaac L. Hicks was shot and killed the early morning of October 16, 1903, when his revolver accidently fell from his holster and discharged. Kiefer City Marshal J. H. Swinford was shot and killed making an arrest the night of August 16, 1909. Hastings City Marshal Robert S. Garrett was shot and killed on October 16, 1909, for revenge by the brother of a man Garrett killed February 2nd in a shootout. Creek County Deputy Sheriff Oscar M. Terry died February 8, 1913, from a wound he received the day before when his gun accidentally fell from it’s holster and discharged. Drumright Chief of Police Ernest H. Keller was shot and killed the night of August 10, 1916, when he was mistaken for an armed robber while he was searching for the robbery suspects. Sapulpa Police Sergeant J. A. “Doc” Hands died March 3, 1918, from being struck in the temple the day before when he was attack and beaten by the ex-police chief. McIntosh County Deputy Sheriff Jack Hunter was shot and killed May 8, 1920, during a jail break. Stephens County Deputy Sheriff W. A. Worley was shot and killed July 25, 1921, trying to arrest a drunk man who was killed in the shootout by the County Sheriff. Marietta City Marshal George G. Smart was unarmed when he was shot and killed August 31, 1922, by a local businessman he had become involved in a fist fight with. McClain County Undersheriff Jason E. Daugherty died July 18, 1925, from stab wounds he received trying to arrest a man on May 9th along with Sheriff Johnnie Ratliff who was shot and killed by the man. Rock Island Railroad Special Agent Ralph Robinson was shot and killed March 31, 1926, trying to arrest four men for stealing coal in the Rock Island yards of Oklahoma City. Kiowa County Deputy Sheriff William H. Humble was shot and killed June 10, 1930, at a residence in Roosevelt after being flagged down told by a woman that her husband wanted to see Deputy Humble. Missouri – Kansa – Texas (MK& T) Railroad Special Agent Nolan R. Willis was shot three times for an unknown reason and died in the MK&T Railroad yard in Muskogee the evening of July 24, 1930. Pontotoc County Deputy Sheriff Alvis Jones was killed in a shootout with the occupant of a car he and other officers stopped in Ada the evening of January 29, 1937, for the shooting a McAlester police officer. Tuttle Night Watchman August G. Nowka was shot and killed in a shootout with three armed robbers that he and City Marshal L. C. Force attempted to arrest in a Tuttle café the evening of August 20, 1939. Missouri – Kansas– Texas (MK& T) Railroad Special Agent Winfield S. Wooten was shot and killed after he stopped a man for speeding in Tulsa. Tulsa Police Officer L. R. Rogers was also shot and killed y the driver before he was shot and killed by other Tulsa officers. Seminole County Deputy Sheriff Robbie C. Whitebird and Captain Marvin G. Williams were both shot and killed as they attempted to serve an arrest warrant on July 26, 2009, in Seminole. Osage County Deputy Sheriff Adam M. Mehagan died in a vehicle accident December 3, 2009, near Prue. For more information on these officers and all of the other officers who have died in the line of duty in Oklahoma both before and after statehood see the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial web site at www.oklemem.com If you have any questions or for more information contact Dennis Lippe, Chairman. Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial at 405-530-1969. |
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Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. P.O. Box 10776 Oklahoma City, OK 73140-1776 PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 7, 2010 ATF to Honor Fallen Oklahoma Officer On September 15, 2010, a ceremony will take place at the National Native American Law Enforcement Association annual conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) will posthumously award it’s highest honor, the Gold Star Medal to Alcohol Tax Unit (ATU) Investigator William Louis Pappan, who was brutally killed in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on December 4, 1935, while investigating a nightclub for illicit liquor activities. The ATU of the Internal Revenue Service was the forerunner alcohol law enforcement agency to ATF. Prior to becoming an investigator with ATU, “Louie,” as he was commonly called, dropped his studies at Kendall College and volunteered for the Great War. He served with the Oklahoma National Guard Ambulance Company Number 1 which was federalized into active service. In France, he drove a mule drawn ambulance as part of the 166th Ambulance Company, 117th Sanitary Train (medical train), 42nd Division; rendering first aid transport near, or at the front lines, Louis himself was hospitalized more than once. After the war, he served as a Traffic Officer with the Tulsa Police Department. Louis was born on the Kaw Indian Reservation in Oklahoma in 1894 and had relatives with deep ties to American history. He was first cousin to Vice President Charles Curtis, our nation’s first Native American Vice President from 1929 to 1933; grandson to Louis Pappan, who operated a locally famous river ferry in Topeka, Kansas, transporting countless settlers westward; Great-great-grandson to Kaw Nation Chief Monchousia (White Plume); Great- great- grandnephew to Osage Nation Chief Pawhuska (White Hair) who met and negotiated a treaty with Thomas Jefferson in Washington, DC; and potentially related to Gilles Papin of the notable French fur trading families of early 19th century St. Louis, Missouri. Because of Pappan’s line of duty death, the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial placed his name, story and picture on their web site where his name was recently discovered by ATF’s historian. Accepting the Gold Star Medal will be, Louis’s son, Stephen Maxfield Pappan of San Diego, CA, his first cousin, Jim Benbrook, of Arizona, and his great- grand niece, Erin Blackshere Pouppirt, of Kansas City, Kansas. For more information see his story on the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial web site at www.oklemem.com
For more information contact Dennis Lippe, Chairman, Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, at (405) 530-1969. |
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Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. P.O. Box 10776 Oklahoma City, OK 73140-1776 PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 12, 2012 Oklahoma’s 5th Officer Line of Duty Death in 10 Months Oklahoma lost its fifth law enforcement officer in the line of duty in the last (10) ten months with the death just after midnight Sunday morning, June 10th of Harper County Reserve Deputy Sheriff William Charles Coen. Deputy Coen was killed when his west bound Dodge Charger patrol car failed to negotiate a curve on Highway 64 two miles west of Buffalo. Deputy Coen was in route to Laverne on an agency assist call when the accident occurred. According to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol report on the accident, Deputy Coen was pinned in the patrol car for three hours after it struck several large round bales of hay and caught fire. Coen was pronounced dead at the scene. Coen is survived by his wife Lori, a seventeen year old daughter and a twenty year old son. Deputy Coen’s funeral will be Friday, June 15th at 2 P.M. at the Anadarko First Baptist Church, 700 W. Petree, in Anadarko. |
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Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. P.O. Box 10776 Oklahoma City, OK 73140-1776 PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 2, 2014 Six Officers to be Added to State’s Law Enforcement Memorial Six law enforcement officers who died in the line-of-duty in Oklahoma will be dedicated on the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial located on the west grounds of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety Headquarters, 3600 M. L. King Avenue in Oklahoma City during the 46th Annual Oklahoma Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial Service the morning of Friday, May 9th at 10 A.M. State Attorney General E. Scott Pruitt will be the key note speaker. Those officers being added are: Mitchell DeWayne Weeks, 48, a Master Patrolman with the McAlester Police Department was working the day shift on January 6, 2012. About 12:30 PM he went home for his lunch break as usual. About 2 PM friends went to check on him when he did not return to work. They found him lying on the kitchen floor of his home still wearing his gun belt which he usually took off before eating lunch. He had suffered a massive heart attack soon after entering his home. Kelley Allen Chase, a Police Officer Cadet with the Oklahoma City Police Department was participating in a six-minute physical test the afternoon of October 12, 2012. During a take-down maneuver with an instructor Chase’s head hit the padded floor mat and he suffered an internal brain injury. Officer Chase died the next morning. Douglas Leon Hanna, 44, a Washita County Deputy Sheriff, was killed in a traffic accident in route to a call near Corn about 12:10 A.M. April 21, 2013, when a pick-up ran a stop sign and struck Hanna’s patrol vehicle. David Evan Allford, 37, an Okfuskee County Deputy Sheriff, was killed about 4:20 P.M. on September 11, 2013, when a tire blew out on his Chevy Tahoe patrol unit on I-40 west of Okemah near mile marker 218 causing the unit to flip twice, ejecting him. Brian Beck, 40, Undersheriff of Washita County, died just after 10 A.M. January 23, 2014, during a pursuit of a man he had a felony warrant for, when Beck’s SUV patrol unit collided with the patrol car of Burns Flat Police Officer Kristian Daniel Willhight, 36, who was in route to assist Beck in the pursuit. Both officers died at the scene of the accident. For more information on these six officers and the other over seven hundred officers who have died in the line-of-duty in Oklahoma, both before and after statehood, go to the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial web site at www.oklemem.com Dennis L. Lippe, Chairman |
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Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. P.O. Box 10776 Oklahoma City, OK 73140-1776 PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 5, 2014 Seven Officers that Died in Oklahoma to be Added to National Memorial Two hundred and eighty-six names were recently engraved on the National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial in Washington, D.C. Those names will be dedicated during the Annual Candle Light Vigil the evening of Tuesday, May 13th. Seven of those names are law enforcement officers who died in the line-of-duty in Oklahoma. Those seven officers being added from Oklahoma are: George Smith, Deputy Sheriff of Grant County who was shot and killed the evening of May 26, 1901, as he happened upon a fight between two men. One man had dropped his gun. As deputy Smith bent over to retrieve it he was shot by the other man. His killer was lynched later that evening. L. C. Hughes, City Marshal of Mills Creek in Johnston County who died just after midnight November 20, 1904, when his deputy’s gun fell from its holster, discharged and struck Hughes in the stomach; William C. Temple, Anadarko Chief of Police who was shot and killed about 9:30 P.M. November 12, 1910, when he attempted to stop a man involved in a disturbance. Mayra Ramirez-Barreto, an Agent with the Puerto Rico Department of Justice and Eliezer Colon-Claussells, a Correctional Officer with the Puerto Rico Department of Corrections were killed in a head on traffic accident about 5:30 A.M. January 10, 2013, near Stillwater while in route to the Cimarron Prison facility to extradite three prisoners back to Puerto Rico. Douglas L. Hanna, a Washita County Deputy Sheriff, was killed in a traffic accident in route to a call near Corn about 12:10 A.M. April 21, 2013, when a pick-up ran a stop sign and struck Hanna’s vehicle. David E. Allford, Okfuskee County Deputy Sheriff, was killed about 4:20 P.M. on September 11, 2013, when a tire blew out on his Chevy Tahoe patrol unit on I-40 west of Okemah near mile marker 218 causing the unit to flip twice, ejecting him. For more information on these seven officers and the other over seven hundred and fifty officers who have died in the line-of-duty in Oklahoma, both before and after statehood, go to the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial web site at www.oklemem.com |
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Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. P.O. Box 10776 Oklahoma City, OK 73140-1776 PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 31, 2015 Thirteen Oklahoma Fallen Officers will be added to National Memorial Thirteen (13) law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty in Oklahoma will be among the two hundred and seventy-five (275) new names to be engraved on the National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial in Washington, D.C. Those names will be dedicated during the 27th Annual Candle Light Vigil the evening of May 13, 2015. Officers being added from Oklahoma are: Brian Beck, Undersheriff, Washita County, died in vehicle accident during a pursuit on January 23, 2014; Howard O Brewer, County Highway Patrolman, Oklahoma County, died in motorcycle accident on March 18, 1926; Kelley A Chase, Officer, Oklahoma City Police Department, died October 13, 2012, from injuries sustain during recruit school training; Andrew Creason, Agent, Rock Island Railroad Police, died on September 19, 1903, ten days after being severely beaten in the railroad yard in Chickasha; August L Edwards, Deputy Sheriff, Sequoyah County, was shot and killed December 24, 1925; Terry B Fisher, Deputy Sheriff, Oklahoma County, died of an on duty heart attack January 12, 2014; James H Hutchison, Officer, Healdton Police Department, died March 27, 1930, from complications of a gunshot wound to his leg received on February 10th; John H Nafziger, Officer, Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad Police, was accidently hit by a train and killed January 30, 1940, in the Santa Fe Railroad yard in Oklahoma City; Thomas J Nevitt, City Marshal, El Reno, died September 19, 1890, after being shot the evening before; Gregory Z Owens II, Officer, Catoosa Police Department, died February 17, 2008 from complications from injuries sustained in an on duty vehicle accident on March 17, 2002; Albert Turner, Constable, Wilburton, died June 25, 1909, from a gunshot received the day before; Mitchell D Weeks, Master Patrolman, McAlester Police Department died January 6, 2012, from an on duty heart attack; Kristian D Willhight, Officer, Burns Flat Police Department, died in vehicle accident during a pursuit on January 23, 2014.
For more information contact Dennis L. Lippe, Chairman, Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial at oklememorial@aol.com or (405) 210-0541 |
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Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. P.O. Box 10776 Oklahoma City, OK 73140-1776 PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 24, 2015 Oklahoma Memorial to Fallen Officers in Need of Repair The Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, located on the west slope of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety Headquarters, 3600 M. L. King Avenue, in Oklahoma City is starting to sink. The first memorial built in the United States to honor the law enforcement officers of a state was dedicated on National Peace Officer’s Memorial Day, May 15, 1969, in Oklahoma. For the past forty-six years it has honored the service of all law enforcement officers who have served in Oklahoma and those officers who have died in the line of duty in that service. Late last year the non-profit organization that now oversees the Memorial and conducts the state’s annual memorial service each May wanted to expand the original memorial plaza to include the six granite stones that have been added outside of the plaza since its dedication. When a construction company went to the memorial to figure a bid for the expansion project they found that the west portion of the plaza was starting to sink. For forty-five years the memorial had withstood Oklahoma’s weather, for the most part. In addition rain water has rushed over and apparently under the memorial’s plaza for those forty-five years. The contractor said the entire plaza needs to be replaced before it sinks entirely and the ground under it repaired. The estimated cost of the repairs and expansion would be approximately $58,000. Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. is working to raise the needed funds to make the necessary repairs and renovations through tax deductible donations. The latest granite stone to be added to the memorial was installed last October. It was purchased to help accommodate the over one hundred and fifty fallen officers from the past whose names have not been engraved on the memorial. There are currently six hundred and eighty-two names engraved on the state’s memorial. New research started in the 1990s has found that fifty of the original names engraved on the memorial should not be on the memorial for various reasons including some of the officers listed actually survived their “mortal wounds”. For more information on the memorial, the memorial organization, the stories of all the known fallen officers, both before and after statehood, and how to make a donation, go to the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial web site at www.oklemem.com For more information contact Dennis Lippe, Chairman of Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. at (405) 210-041 |
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Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. P.O. Box 10776 Oklahoma City, OK 73140-1776 e-mail: oklememorial@aol.com PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 1, 2016 Nine Oklahoma Fallen Officers will be added to National Memorial Nine (9) law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty in Oklahoma will be among the two hundred and fifty-two (252) new names to be engraved on the National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial in Washington, D.C. Those names will be dedicated during the 28th Annual Candle Light Vigil the evening of May 13, 2016. Officers being added from Oklahoma are: Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Nicholas G. Dees killed January 31, 2015, when struck by a vehicle while investigating an accident; Osage County Deputy Sheriff James E. Fields who died April 14, 1961, of a heart attack after struggling with a man he was arresting; Officer Allen P. Trentham of the Hobart Police Department was shot July 27, 1930, attempting to make an arrest of a drunk man and died from his wound the next day; Pottawatomie County Deputy Sheriff James R. Lindsey was accidently shot and killed November 14, 1926, by another deputy in Lincoln County when the deputy went to demonstrate how he drew his gun on two armed robbers recently; Special Agent for the St. Louis & San Frisco Railroad Police Samuel E. Adair was killed May 3,1922, when he was accidently struck by a train in the Tulsa yards; Special Agent for the St. Louis & San Frisco Railroad Police Charles E. Chitwood was shot and killed as he attempted to arrest a man he caught burglarizing a box car on July 26, 1920; Special Agent for the St. Louis & San Frisco Railroad Police Boss Huffman was killed March 12, 1918, when his foot got stuck in the tracks as a switch engine was backing down the tracks and struck him; Bennington City Marshal James E. Parish was shot and killed July 23, 1912, by the sons of a man Parish had just confiscated some cattle from in a civil suit; Pottawatomie County Deputy Sheriff Will Turner was shot and killed by Bob Christian and three of his friends on April 27, 1895, as Turner attempted to arrest Christian on a warrant for grand larceny. For more information on these officers and the other almost eight hundred officers who have died in the line of duty in Oklahoma, both before and after statehood, go to the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial web site at www.oklemem.com.
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Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. P.O. Box 10776 Oklahoma City, OK 73140-1776 e-mail: oklememorial@aol.com PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 25, 2016 155 Fallen Officers to be Engraved on State’s Memorial The names of one hundred and fifty five (155) law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty in Oklahoma will soon be engraved on the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial. The deaths date back to 1872. “These officers have not been forgotten, we just have not had the space or money to engrave them on the memorial until now”, says Dennis Lippe, Chairman of the organization that oversees the memorial. Most of their stories have been on the memorial’s web site for several years. The newest granite stone to be added to the memorial was ordered in January 2014 to accommodate the names of the officers. The stone was not delivered until October. About the same time the stone was installed the memorial organization was looking at expanding the original memorial plaza to include the six stones that have been added outside of the plaza over the years since the memorial was dedicated on May 15, 1969. This is when contractors, who were to bid on the expansion project, discovered the plaza was starting to sink. The Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial organization is making efforts to raise the almost $60,000 needed to just make the repairs. The memorial is totally supported by donations even though it sits on state property on the west grounds of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety Headquarters. Oklahoma’s was the first state law enforcement memorial built in the United States. Forty-eight (48) of the new names are those of officers of the US Marshal Service. Almost half of all the US Marshal Service officers who have died in the line of duty in the United States died in Oklahoma both before and after statehood. The new names will be dedicated during the 48th Annual Oklahoma Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial Service to be conducted on Friday, May 20th. Those officers being added are: M. H. Adams, US Marshal Service, 1873; Alexander A. Anderson, Grady County Sheriff’s Office, 1925; Robert W. Arnold, Osage County Sheriff’s Office, 1924; John M. Beard , US Marshal Service, 1894; Seth Beardsley, US Marshal Service, 1873; Black Sut Beck, US Marshal Service, 1872; Sam Beck, US Marshal Service, 1872; William Beck, US Marshal Service, 1872; Richard D. Bell, Haileyville Police Department, 1909; William R. Benningfield, Oklahoma Department of Corrections, 1941; William T. Bentz, US Marshal Service, 1872; Joe Big Knife, US Indian Police, 1895; Jim Billy, US Marshal Service, 1890; Ed Bohanon, US Indian Police, 1895; John R. Boston, US Indian Police, 1881; A. J. Boyd, Langston Police Department, 1900; George W. Bradley, Caney Police Department, 1920; Benjamin F. Brashears, Panama City Police Department, 1919; Howard O. Brewer, Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office, 1926; Leander Brown, US Indian Police, 1882; Robert B. Bryant, Depew Police Department , 1911; Charles L. Bullock, Delaware Police Department, 1917; William H. Butler, Bartlesville Police Department, 1915; (First Name Unknown) Campbell, US Marshal Service, 1886; James J. Campbell, US Marshal Service, 1891; Felix Chapman, Okmulgee Police Department, 1908; Charles F. Christian, Oklahoma Department of Corrections, 1935; Henry D. Cobb, Bartlesville Police Department, 1935; Reuben D. Coleman, Grayson County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office, 1881; D. B. Cook, Ardmore Police Department, 1908; David S. Cox, Hughes County Sheriff’s Office, 1908; Andrew Creason, Rock Island Railroad Police, 1903; Billy Cully, Seminole Lighthorse, 1906; Tom Dancer, Maud Police Department, 1906; Kenneth L. Denton, Oklahoma Department of Corrections, 1989; L. P. Dixon, US Marshal Service, 1907; George M. Doolittle, Lampasas County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office, 1879; James Doss, El Reno Police Department, 1895; Morris T. Dunn, Fannin County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office, 1888; Jerry D. Emerson, Logan County Sheriff’s Office, 1903; Charles I. Epperson, Boynton Police Department, 1925; Fred Evans, Mannford Police Department, 1911; Frank Faulkner, US Marshal Service, 1894; James E. Fields, Osage County Sheriff’s Office, 1961; Walter C. Floyd, Roff Police Department, 1923; Robert S. Garrett, Hastings Police Department, 1909; John Garritson, Delaware Police Department, 1917; Franklin W. Goss, Chouteau Police Department, 1957; James A. Hands, Sapulpa Police Department, 1918; William T. Harden, US Marshal Service, 1890; Henry L. Harper, Harmon County Sheriff’s Office, 1919; West Harris, US Marshal Service, 1894; Bill Harrison, US Marshal Service, 1894; Joseph P. Heinrichs, US Marshal Service, 1899; Jesse Hendrickson, Grant County Sheriff’s Office, 1893; Isaac L. Hicks, Bartlesville Police Department, 1903; William Hicks, US Marshal Service, 1872; Ben J Higbee, Coyle Police Department, 1904; Otto Holler, El Dorado Police Department, 1924; Fred Hollingsworth, Washita County Sheriff’s Office, 1915; Tom Hood, Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Office, 1933; Luther Houston, US Marshal Service, 1902; L. C. Hughes, Mill Creek Police Department, 1904; William H. Humble , Kiowa County Sheriff’s Office, 1930; William D. Hutchins, Claremore Police Department, 1918; Henry H. Jackson, US Bureau of Prohibition, DO J, 1932; Aron W. Johnson, US Marshal Service, 1896; Berry Jones, Okfuskee County Sheriff’s Office, 1920; Harrison Jones, Jackson Township Police Department, 1911; William F. Jones, Fredrick Police Department, 1934; Joseph M. Jordan, US Marshal Service, 1897; Lincoln Keeney, US Marshal Service , 1894; William Kirby, Jay Police Department, 1974; T. John Kirk, Marble City Police Department, 1911; William Kirksey, US Marshal Service, 1885; James Knight, Cherokee Junction Police Department, 1901; William Leech, US Marshal Service, 1884; Webb H. Lester, Guthrie Police Department , 1894; Anderson Lewis, Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Office, 1905; Johnson Lewis, Tishomingo County Sheriff’s Office, 1893; James R. Lindsey, Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office, 1926; John C. Lunsford, Beggs Police Department, 1910; Thomas R. Madden, US Marshal Service, 1896; John T. Martin, Carnegie Police Department, 1960; William Mayes, Federal Prohibition Unit, IRS, 1919; William R. Mayfield, OK Department of Corrections, 1926; William W. McCall, US Marshal Service, 1895; Claude H. McDonald, Rock Island Railroad Police, 1911; Henry McGill, Tishomingo County Sheriff’s Office, 1883; Herbert McIntosh, Jr., McAlester Police Department, 1984; Mose McIntosh, US Marshal Service , 1888; John McWeir, US Marshal Service, 1883; Henry Miller, US Marshal Service, 1886; Nimrod J. Miller, Burnett County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office, 1881; Benjamin F. Milligan, Cimarron County Sheriff’s Office, 1909; Lem E. Mitchell, Pontotoc County Sheriff’s Office, 1914; James H. Murphy, Fairfax Police Department, 1912; Howard E. Murray, Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Office, 1910; Charles M. Nichols, Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, 1921; Joe Nix, US Marshal Service, 1894; Richard E. Oliver, Canute Police Department, 1983; Slack Palmer, Pawnee County Sheriff’s Office, 1911; James E. Parish, Bennington Police Department, 1912; Henry Peckenpaugh, US Marshal Service, 1899; John B. Pemberton, US Marshal Service, 1892; Steve Pen-su-wau, US Marshal Service, 1891; William Pitts, US Marshal Service, 1890; John Poorbear, Fort Gibson Police Department, 1890; Josiah Poorboy, US Marshal Service, 1891; Harry L. Potter, Beaver County Sheriff’s Office, 1971; Richard H. Pratt, Gore Police Department, 1927; Marion Prickett, US Marshal Service , 1890; Bud Pursley, US Marshal Service, 1884; Ezekiel M. Putnam, Allen Police Department, 1909; Robert Reed, US Marshal Service, 1889; William T. Reynolds, Chandler Police Department, 1926; William W. Roberts, Comanche County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office, 1948; Ralph Robinson, Rock Island Railroad Police, 1926; William Roland, Shidler Police Department, 1927; Wendell R. Rowan, Wright City Police Department, 1980; Running Eagle, Pawnee Tribal Police Department, 1891; Running Over Water, Ponca Tribal Police Department, 1908; Sherman Russell, US Marshal Service, 1893 ; John H. Scott, Quinton Police Department, 1918; George W. Selvidge, US Marshal Service, 1872; David Sizemore, US Marshal Service, 1890; Donald W. Smiley, Texhoma Police Department, 1983; Warren N. Smith, Bokchito Police Department, 1951; James D. Snider, Osage County Sheriff’s Office, 1921; Charles C. Starr, Braggs Police Department, 1916; George C. Starr, Rogers County Sheriff’s Office, 1912; Charles H. Stricker, Commerce Police Department, 1919; Jeff Surratt, San Bois County Sheriff’s Office, 1900; J. H. Swinford, Kiefer Police Department, 1909; Homer Teaff, Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office, 1922; William C. Temple, Anadarko Police Department, 1910; Oscar M. Terry, Creek County Sheriff’s Office, 1913; Albert Turner, Wilburton Police Department , 1909; William C. Turner, Oklahoma Department of Corrections, 1935; Thomas E. Tyus, Creek County Sheriff’s Office, 1911; John Wall, Tatums Police Department, 1923; James Ward, US Marshal Service, 1872; James Ward, Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, 1919; Charles T. Warner, US Marshal Service, 1935; Thomas Whitehead, US Marshal Service, 1891; Adam Wilkins, Choctaw Tribal Police, 1920; William O. Wilkins, Choctaw County Sheriff’s Office, 1924; Jim Williams, US Marshal Service, 1889; William Williams, Bismark Police Department, 1916; Sore Lip Willie, US Marshal Service, 1889; Charles B. Wilson, US Marshal Service, 1884; J. C. Wilson, Weleetka Police Department, 1932; Riley Woods, US Marshal Service, 1872; Pleasant Yargee, Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, 1909; Thomas Young, US Marshal Service, 1882. For more information on these officers or any of the almost eight hundred (800) law enforcement officers who have died in Oklahoma go to www.oklemem.com -30- Contact Dennis Lippe, Chairman of the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial by the above e-mail or by cell phone, (405) 210-0541. Engraving will take two days and is scheduled to start early this Wednesday morning, the 27th, weather permitting. |
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Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. P.O. Box 10776 Oklahoma City, OK 73140-1776 e-mail: oklememorial@aol.com PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 4, 2017 Four Oklahoma Fallen Officers to be added to National Memorial Four (4) law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty in Oklahoma will be among the three hundred and ninety-four (394) new names to be engraved on the National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial in Washington, D.C. Those names will be dedicated during the 29th Annual Candle Light Vigil the evening of May 13, 2017. Officers being added from Oklahoma are: Chickasaw Lighthorse Police Department Special Agent Robert P. Flickinger,37, died in an on duty traffic accident March 7, 2008, on State Highway 199 just east of Madill in Marshall County; Claremore Police Officer William D. Hutchins, 53, was shot and killed the evening of November 13, 1918, as he attempted to arrest a porter in the lobby of a local hotel; Sapulpa Police Lieutenant Trey B. Pritchard, 46, was shot and killed in Midwest City the afternoon of August 15, 2015, as he was assisting his cousin retrieve his stolen pickup; Nowata City Marshal John L. Wilson, 26, was shot and killed February 8, 1898, as he entered a livery stable to quiet a drunken disturbance. For more information on these officers and the other almost eight hundred officers who have died in the line of duty in Oklahoma, both before and after statehood, go to the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial web site at www.oklemem.com. –30 – Contact O.L.E.M. Chairman Dennis Lippe at (405) 210-0541 if you have any questions |
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Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. P.O. Box 10776 Oklahoma City, OK 73140-1776 e-mail: oklememorial@aol.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 2, 2018 2017 A Bad Year for Oklahoma Law Enforcement Officers Last year Oklahoma lost more law enforcement officers in the line of duty than in any year since 1995. In 1995 Oklahoma lost sixteen (16) officers which included twelve (12) killed in the Murrah Federal Building bombing. In 2017 Oklahoma saw the deaths of six (6) officers. The officers we lost as a state this last year were: Oklahoma Department of Corrections Corporal Stephen R. Jenkins, Jr., 42, who suffered a fatal heart attack the evening of January 7th following a foot pursuit of an inmate at the Clara Waters Community Correctional Center in Oklahoma City; Sac and Fox Tribal Police Officer Nathan B. Graves, 45, who was killed in an on duty traffic accident early the morning of January 24th eleven miles north of Stoud; Craig County Deputy Sheriff Sean F. Cookson, 23, died February 27th from injuries he sustained in a traffic accident the morning of February 22nd while in route to training; Tecumseh Police Officer Justin M. Terney, 22, died the morning of March 27th from gunshot wounds he received late the night before during a shootout during a traffic stop; Logan County Deputy Sheriff David J. Wade, 40, died of gunshot wounds he received a few hours earlier the morning of April 18th while serving an eviction warrant near Mulhall; Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lieutenant Donald H. Meyer, 43, died July 24th from injuries he sustained in a traffic accident after laying out stop sticks for a pursuit on I-35 near NE 27th in Moore late the evening of July 14th. These officers will be honored during the state and national memorial services in May. For more information on these six officers or any of Oklahoma’s eight hundred fallen law enforcement officers go to the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial web site at www.oklemem.com -30- For further information contact Dennis Lippe, Chairman of the Oklahoma law Enforcement Memorial at oklememorial@aol.com or by mobile phone (405) 210-0541 |
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Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. P.O. Box 10776 Oklahoma City, OK 73140-1776 e-mail: oklememorial@aol.com PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Ten Oklahoma Fallen Officers to be added to National Memorial Ten (10) law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty in Oklahoma will be among the three hundred and sixty (360) new names to be engraved on the National Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial in Washington, D.C. Those names will be dedicated during the 30th Annual Candlelight Vigil the evening of May 13, 2018. Officers being added from Oklahoma are: Payne County Deputy Sheriff Shack Palmer, died December.10, 1911, from gunshot wounds that he received late the evening of December 8th attempting an arrest near Fisher; Bristow Police Detective William H. Johnston, died September 20, 1924, when his car crashed a mile north of Bristow attempting to intercept some Kellyville bank robbers; Perkins Police Officer Henry L. Cotton, died April 29, 1986, from complications following surgery for injuries sustained during a fight making an arrest March 28th; Logan County Deputy Sheriff Edward J. Wright, died October 23, 2016, after suffering an on duty heart attack late the evening of October 20th; Oklahoma Department of Corrections Corporal Stephen R. Jenkins, Jr,, died January 7, 2017, from a heart attack he suffered after chasing an inmate with contraband at the Clara Waters Correctional Center in Oklahoma City; Sac & Fox Nation Police Officer Nathan B. Graves, died January 24, 2017, about 6 a.m. in a head on traffic accident 11 miles north of Stroud on Highway 99 ; Craig County Deputy Sheriff Sean F. Cookson, died February 27, 2017, from injuries sustained in a traffic accident the morning of February 22nd while in route to training;
Tecumseh Police Officer Justin M. Terney, died March 28, 2017, after being shot twice during a traffic stop about 11:30 p.m. the night before; Logan County Deputy Sheriff David J. Wade, died April. 18, 2017, shortly after being shot several times while serving an eviction notice in Mulhall;
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lieutenant D. Heath Meyer, died July 24, 2017, from injuries sustained when he was accidently struck late the evening of July 14th by an OHP unit after he laid out stop sticks for a pursuit north bound on I-35 near NE 27th Street in Moore. For more information on these officers and the other almost eight hundred officers who have died in the line of duty in Oklahoma, both before and after statehood, go to the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial web site at www.oklemem.com. –30 – Contact O.L.E.M. Chairman Dennis Lippe at (405) 210-0541 if you have any questions |
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Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. P.O. Box 10776 Oklahoma City, OK 73140-1776 PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 31, 2018 Centerpiece to be added to Oklahoma Memorial With the installation of a twenty-four foot Blue Light Centerpiece this week, the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial added the final piece to the newly repaired and renovated memorial plaza. The Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial is the oldest state law enforcement memorial in the United States, dedicated on May 15, 1969. A few years ago it was discovered the memorial was sinking after almost fifty years of withstanding Oklahoma weather and rain water flowing over and apparently under it. Donations were made and the work to repair and renovate the memorial started on December 15th of last year when the memorial stones were taken up and stored. The renovated memorial was for the most part completed and was rededicated during the Fiftieth Annual Memorial Service on May 18th of this year. The center piece was the only part not ready by the service. This Sunday, November 4th at 5:30 p.m. during the Oklahoma Chapter of the Concerns of Police Survivor’s Annual Blue Light Ceremony the perpetual Blue Light Center Piece will officially be turned on as a constant reminder of the service and sacrifices of our law enforcement officers. The memorial is located on the west grounds of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety Headquarters, 3600 M. L. King Avenue in Oklahoma City. The public is encouraged to attend. The names of over eight hundred officers who have died in the line of duty in Oklahoma, both before and after statehood, are engraved on the memorial. See the memorial’s web site at www.oklemem.com for more information on the memorial and Oklahoma’s fallen officers. |
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Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. P.O. Box 10776 Oklahoma City, OK 73140-1776 PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 15, 2020 Twenty-Four Fallen Officers to be added to Oklahoma Memorial The names of twenty-four (24) law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty in Oklahoma were recently engraved on the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial in Oklahoma City. Their names will be dedicated during the 52nd Annual Oklahoma Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial Service, which was scheduled for the morning of Friday, May 8, 2020, but has been postponed until later in the year. The Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial is the oldest state memorial honoring its fallen officers in the United States and was dedicated May 15, 1969. The non-profit memorial organization is totally funded by donations. Over forty per cent of all of the Deputy U.S. Marshals who have died in the line of duty in the United States died in what is now the state of Oklahoma and are honored on the memorial Three of the officers being added died last year and two died earlier this year. The other nineteen officers are from previous years had not been added in the past as the memorial was still researching their circumstances to confirm their death as a line of duty death. Earlier year line of duty deaths are added as the memorial learns of them or as the memorial confirms they died in the line of duty. Several others are still pending and may be added in future years. The memorial is located on the west grounds of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety Headquarters, 3600 M. L. King Avenue in Oklahoma City. The twenty-four fallen officers being added are: Joseph Lanier, Sheriff, Scullyville (Le Flore) County, Choctaw Nation, I.T. died September 23, 1881; John M. Cross, Sheriff, Stevens County, Kansas, died July 25, 1888; Cyrus W. Eaton, Deputy Sheriff, Stevens County, Kansas, died July 25, 1888; Robert Hubbard, Deputy Sheriff, Stevens County, Kansas, died July 25, 1888; Rolland T. Wilcox, Deputy Sheriff, Stevens County, Kansas, died July 25, 1888; Rumsey Smith, Officer, Choctaw Nation Lighthorse died in March 1896; J. H. Siler, Deputy Sheriff, Pawnee County, died May 21, 1899; Wade J. T. Crank, City Marshal, Tecumseh, died August 1, 1899; Tennessee, Deputy City Marshal, Oktaha, died March 25, 1905; Ralph Chapman, Special Deputy, Okmulgee Police Department, died November 15, 1908; William J. Marshall, Guard, Oklahoma Department of Corrections, died June 16, 1911; R. L. Cares, Deputy Sheriff, Choctaw County, died July 5, 1912; James D. Coffee, Deputy Sheriff, Wilbarger County, Texas, died February 16, 1918; James M. Williams, Former Sheriff, Johnson County, died August 3, 1921; Willis Sheppard, Deputy Sheriff, Washington County, died May 20, 1922; James D. Tittle, Agent, Federal Prohibition Enforcement, IRS, died September 22, 1922; William H. Johnston, Detective, Bristow Police Department, died September 20, 1924; Michael L. Loudenslager, Reserve Deputy Sheriff, Oklahoma County, died April 19, 1995; David M. Robbins, Patrolman, Idabel Police Department, died June 28, 2011; Monty T. Johnson, Undersheriff, Pawnee County, died February 21, 2019; Brian K. Crain, Sergeant, Jenks Police Department, died February 22, 2019; Lucky C. Miller, Chief, Mannford Po9lice Department, died November 10, 2019; Jarid D. Taylor, Deputy Sheriff, Bryan County, died January 14, 2020; Shirley J. Lanning, Lieutenant, Canadian County, died February 14, 2020. For more information on these officers or the other over eight hundred officers who have died in the line of duty in Oklahoma go to the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial web site www.oklemem.com – 30 – Contact Chairman Dennis Lippe at oklememorial@aol.com or (405) 210-0541 for more information. |
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Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. P.O. Box 10776 Oklahoma City, OK 73140-1776 PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 20, 2021 Eleven Fallen Officers to be added to Oklahoma Memorial The names of eleven (11) law enforcement officers and one (1) canine partner who died in the line of duty in Oklahoma were recently engraved on the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial in Oklahoma City. Their names will be dedicated during the 53rd Annual Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial Service, which is scheduled for the morning of Friday, May 7, 2021 at 10 a.m. The Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial is the oldest state memorial honoring its fallen officers in the United States and was dedicated May 15, 1969. The non-profit memorial organization is totally funded by donations. Over forty percent of all the Deputy U.S. Marshals who have died in the line of duty in the United States died in what is now the state of Oklahoma and are honored on the state’s law enforcement memorial. Five of the officers, who died in past years, had not been added previously as the memorial was still researching their circumstances to confirm their death as line of duty. The memorial is located on the west grounds of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety Headquarters, 3600 M. L. King Avenue in Oklahoma City. The eleven fallen officers and one canine partner being added are: Jesse Whitfield Morris, Deputy Sheriff, Washita County, died February 3, 1910; John Sanders, Deputy Sheriff, Adair County, died September 14, 1915; W. H. Corder, Deputy Sheriff, Ottawa County, died October 23, 1917; Raymond Thomas “Buck” Boston, Sheriff, Montgomery County, Illinois, died July 23, 1947; Dale Maloy Harbolt, Special Agent, ATF, U.S. Treasury Department, died June 7, 1976; John Chukwydiut Okafor, Corporal, Detention Officer, Tulsa County, died April 15, 2020; Craig Vincent Johnson, Sergeant, Tulsa Police Department, died June 30, 2020; Jeffery Wade Sewell, Captain, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, died September 26, 2020; Jerad Matthew Lindsey, Officer, Tulsa Police Department, died October 28, 2020; Billy Dewayne Allen, Sr., US Dept of Defense – Ft Sill Police Department, died December 6, 2020; Lindal “Dewayne” Hall, Chief Deputy, McIntosh County, died December 14, 2020; Canine Oli, Muskogee Police Department, died July 1, 2020. For more information on these officers or the other over eight hundred officers who have died in the line of duty in Oklahoma go to the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial web site www.oklemem.com – 30 – Contact Chairman Dennis Lippe at oklememorial@aol.com or (405) 210-0541 for more information. |
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Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. P.O. Box 10776 Oklahoma City, OK 73140-1776 PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 30, 2021 New Stone Added to Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc., the non-profit 501c-3 organization that oversees the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, started a project two years ago to have wreaths placed during the Christmas holiday season on all graves of Oklahoma’s fallen law enforcement officers. During the research to locate the graves of Oklahoma’s fallen officers it was found that the final resting place of just over one hundred of the over eight hundred fallen officers was unknown. Most of the unknown burial sites are those of Deputy U.S. Marshals, their posses or guards, or tribal law enforcement officers who died before Oklahoma statehood. Over forty percent of all the Deputy U.S. Marshals who have died in the line of duty in the United States died in what is now the state of Oklahoma and are honored on the state’s law enforcement memorial.
The memorial organization ordered a new granite stone, and it was recently placed just south of the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial plaza. This beautiful new granite stone is in honor of all the fallen officers whose final resting place is unknown. A wreath will be placed at the new stone in mid-December during the annual Wreaths for the Fallen ceremony. The Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial is the oldest state memorial honoring its fallen officers in the United States and was dedicated May 15, 1969. The non-profit memorial organization is totally funded by donations. The memorial is located on the west grounds of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety Headquarters, 3600 M. L. King Avenue in Oklahoma City. For more information on these officers or the other over eight hundred officers who have died in the line of duty in Oklahoma go to the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial website at www.oklemem.com – 30 – Contact Chairman Dennis Lippe at oklememorial@aol.com or (405) 210-0541 for more information. |
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Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. P.O. Box 10776 Oklahoma City, OK 73140-1776 PRESS RELEASE May 10, 2022 Seventeen Fallen Officers to be Dedicated on State Memorial The names of seventeen (17) law enforcement officers and two (2) canine partners who died in the line of duty in Oklahoma will be dedicated on the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial during the 54th Annual Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial Service, on Friday morning, May 20, 2022, at 10 a.m. The memorial is located on the west grounds of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety Headquarters, 3600 M. L. King Avenue in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial is the oldest state memorial honoring its fallen officers in the United States and was dedicated May 15, 1969. The public is encouraged to attend. The seventeen fallen officers and two canine partners being dedicated are: Jesse S. Perkins, Posse, U.S. Marshal Service, was part of a large posse attempting to arrest the remaining members of a gang of outlaws when he was shot and killed on March 17, 1891. Joseph Soulek, Patrolman, Oklahoma City Police Department, died March 20, 1909, after being hospitalized several weeks for typhoid pneumonia, contracted while walking his beat in a cold driving rain on March 7th. Francis M. Hatcher, Deputy Sheriff, Pontotoc County Sheriff’s Office, died on July 23, 1909, after being shot the evening before while keeping the peace at a large picnic south of Ada. Edward A. Eshelman, Officer, Pawnee Police Department, was shot and killed early the morning of May 13, 1922, while arresting three men in a stolen car. John A. George, Officer, Oklahoma City Police Department, was acting Commander of the Honor Guard the morning of February 18, 1981, when he was killed in a motorcycle accident while enroute home to change into his Honor Guard uniform for a funeral of a retired officer. James A. Hayes, Trooper, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, died of a heart attack shortly after arresting a suspected drunk driver who resisted arrest in Catoosa on July 9, 1988. Matthew R. North, Officer, Bernice Police Department, suffered a heart attack as he was getting off duty at 4 p.m. on March 19, 1921, and died at the hospital early the next morning. Kyle J. Davis, Corporal, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, suffered a heart attack on March 25, 2021, shortly after assisting other officers with a combative prisoner in the county jail and died an hour later. Lewis F. Cantey, Officer, Grand River Dam Authority Police Department, died June 18, 2021, from complications from the Covid virus for which he had been hospitalized several days. Ray L. Jacomo, Jr., Deputy Sheriff, Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office, did not feel well and went home upon his return to the sheriff’s office the morning of April 21, 2021, after transporting a felony suspect. Later that afternoon Jacomo died of a heart attack as he was being transported to the hospital. John A. Harris, II, Sergeant, Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, was hospitalized July 29, 2021, for the Covid virus and died August 19, 2021, from complications from the virus. John L. Trout, Sr., Sergeant, Bernice Police Department was hospitalized the first part of August 2021 with the Covid virus and died August 25, 2021, from complications from the virus. Edgar Pales, Jr., Officer, Owasso Police Department, was hospitalized in late August with the Covid virus and died from complication from the virus on August 29, 2021. Steven D. Rozell, Jailer, Washita County Sheriff’s Office, was diagnosed with the Covid virus on August 9, 2021, and died from complications of the virus on August 29, 2021. Howard K. Smith, III, Officer, Owasso Police Department, contracted the Covid virus the middle of August 2021, was hospitalized and died of complications from the virus on September 27, 2021. Frank Rodriguez, Jr., Sergeant, Midwest City Police Department, contracted the Covid virus and was hospitalized several weeks before he died from complications from the virus on September 29, 2021. Lewis W. Roller, Investigator, District 6 District Attorney’s Office, had contracted the Covid virus, was hospitalized and died from complications from the virus on December 16, 2021. Canine Partner Jaeger, Stephens County Sheriff’s Office, suffered serious spinal injuries when he fell trying to jump into the patrol unit on duty April 12, 2021, and was euthanized April 14, 2021. Canine Partner Tito, Eufaula Police Department, was found unresponsive after being left in the patrol unit for thirty minutes when the unit’s air conditioning malfunctioned the afternoon of April 15, 2021. For more information on these officers or any of the other over eight hundred and fifty officers who have died in the line of duty in Oklahoma go to the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial web site at www.oklemem.com or scan this QR code. – 30 – For more information contact Chairman Dennis Lippe at oklememorial@aol.com or (405) 210-0541. |
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Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial, Inc. P.O. Box 10776 Oklahoma City, OK 73140-1776 PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 10, 2023 Fourteen Fallen Officers to be Dedicated on State Memorial Recently the names of fourteen (14) law enforcement officers and one (1) canine partner who died in the line of duty in Oklahoma were engraved on the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial and will be dedicated on the memorial during the 55th Annual Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial Service, on Friday morning, May 19, 2023, at 10 a.m. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond will be the Guest Speaker for the memorial service. The memorial is located on the west grounds of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety Headquarters, 3600 M. L. King Avenue in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial is the oldest memorial honoring fallen officers in the United States and was dedicated May 15, 1969. The public is encouraged to attend. The fourteen fallen officers and one canine partner being dedicated are: Isaac Person, Deputy Sheriff, Le Flore County Sheriff’s Office, died the evening of December 6, 1920, after being beaten with rifles while making an arrest earlier that afternoon. James C. Collier, Deputy Sheriff, Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office died February 4, 1931, from a gunshot wound he received the night before while arresting a burglar he caught in his blacksmith shop. Thomas B. McNulty, Private, U.S. Army Military Police died the afternoon of December 18, 1943, from injuries he received earlier that morning in a jeep accident while patrolling the Fredrick Army Field near Fredrick. Fred Thompson, Officer, Midwest City Police Department died on Sunday, October 6, 1963, after suffering an on-duty heart attack while walking his beat in downtown Midwest City on Saturday, October 5th. Officer Thompson had also been involved in breaking up fights at a high school football game Friday night. Bart L. Arnold, Officer, Enid Police Department died January 3, 2022, from complications after contracting the Covid virus on duty. Eric L. Haskins, Officer, Harrah Police Department died the evening of January 28, 2022, after suffering a heart attack after going off duty that day. William D. Kelley, Master Patrolman, McAlester Police Department died January 30, 2022, from complications from contracting the Covid virus on duty. Richard L. Stephens, Chief of Police, Union City Police Department died February 4, 2022, from complications after he and his wife contracted the Covid virus before Christmas 2021. His wife recovered. Scott B. Owens, Lieutenant, Union City Police Department died March 1, 2022, from complications of contracting the Covid virus in early January of that year. Christopher C. Nelson, Sergeant, Edmond Police Department died soon after arriving at the hospital on July 19. 2022, after he was struck at a high rate of speed while setting on his police motorcycle at a red light. William R, Hargraves, Captain, Osage County Sheriff’s Office died at the scene of a vehicle accident he was involved in about 8 a.m. the morning of August 19, 2022, while he was in route to work. Robert B. Swartz, Sergeant, Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office died shortly after arriving at the hospital suffering from gunshot wounds inflicted while trying to serve an eviction warrant the afternoon of August 22, 2022. Deputy Mark Johns was also wounded but survived. Justin C. Baxter, Deputy Sheriff, Canadian County Sheriff’s Office died shortly after arriving at the hospital the early morning hours of September 8, 2022. Deputy Baxter had transported several high-risk prisoners the day before and had complained of chest pains that evening. Meagan R. Burke, Sergeant, Oklahoma City Police Department died at the scene of a head-on vehicle accident about 12:30 a.m. the morning of September 29, 2022, after her north bound car was struck by a south bound vehicle on I-44. Sergeant Burke had just left the Santa Fe Briefing Station and was headed home when the accident occurred. Canine Partner Wessel, Lawton Police Department, died January 2, 2014, from complications after ingesting a large portion of his “reward ball” which ruptured when he bit down on it after he had hit on drugs during a traffic stop on December 10, 2013. For more information on these officers or any of the other over eight hundred and fifty officers who have died in the line of duty in Oklahoma go to the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial web site at www.oklemem.com or scan this QR code.
– 30 – For more information contact Memorial Chairman Dennis Lippe at oklememorial@aol.com or (405) 210-0541. |