(LONDON, Ohio) – Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine gave the keynote address today at the 2011 Ohio Peace Officers' Memorial Ceremony on the grounds of the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy in London, Ohio.
The ceremony honored four Ohio peace officers who gave their lives in the line of duty in 2010.
"Every day, Ohio's peace officers put themselves between us and, our families and harm's way," said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine. "The loss of any peace officer is a sobering reminder of how real the risks are that they, and their fellow officers, willingly accepted to serve and protect."
The officers memorialized were: Ross Township Police Chief Carl Worley (Butler County); Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper Andrew C. Baldridge (Bucyrus Post); Officer Thomas F. Patton II (Cleveland Heights); and Sergeant James A. Kerstetter (Elyria).
The ceremony featured a riderless horse, rifle salute, sounding of "Taps," flyover and missing man formation.
Also inducted was Marshal John Vapenik of Maple Heights who was killed in the line of duty on August 28, 1920. Vapenik was nominated for induction after his department, through research, discovered he had made the ultimate sacrifice for his community more than ninety years ago.
Police departments and sheriffs' offices from across Ohio participated in the ceremony. View the 2011 Ohio Peace Officers' Memorial Ceremony program.
The Ohio Fallen Officers' Memorial Wall is a lasting tribute to Ohio's officers killed in the line of duty since 1823.
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Media Contacts
Lisa Hackley 614-466-3840
Dan Tierney 614-466-3840
Video
Audio
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine (Run Time: 0:25)
Grace Leon, widow of fallen Cleveland Police officer Wayne Leon (Run Time: 0:24)