On the Job 

At the 2016 Ohio Peace Officers’ Memorial Ceremony, Christine Harvey found solace being among the family and friends of her fiancé — Deputy Michael Brandle of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, who died last year during a training exercise — and being with others who understand her heartache.

 “It’s comforting to be with the other families and to hear their stories, to know that they’ve gone through the same thing,” she said. “Everyone has been so wonderful.”

Nathan Van Oort Jr., whose father, Officer Nathan Van Oort Sr. of the Ohio University Police Department, was among those lost in 2015, agreed with Harvey.

“This gives me a great sense of family,” he said of being surrounded by hundreds of law enforcement officers from throughout the state who gathered to pay their respects at the May 5 event on the lawn of the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy in London.

The annual ceremony honored the 770 officers killed in the line of duty since 1823, including those killed in 2015 — Brandle, Van Oort, and Officer Sonny Kim of the Cincinnati Police Department. Their names have joined the others’ on the Ohio Fallen Officers’ Memorial.

 “This is the 29^th year Ohioans have come together to commemorate the peace officers in our state who have lost their lives in the line of duty,” said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine.

He noted that Brandle, Van Oort, and Kim were among 124 officers throughout the United States who in 2015 ended their watch having made the ultimate sacrifice. So far this year, 33 officers, including two from Ohio, have died while on duty.

 “The risks that peace officers face are unlike those of almost any other job,” DeWine said. “They may involve an unseen ambush or a suspect resisting arrest. They may arise from accumulated stress or previous injury, or they may result from countless other hazards that come up in the course of protecting all of us.

“When a peace officer dies as the result of discharging his or her duties, we all feel the loss deeply.”

Fayette County Sheriff Vernon Stanforth, chairperson of the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission, spoke of the “new normal” that families experience when a loved one is struck down.

“Days following such events become a blur,” he said. In the days after a loved one’s death, life is transformed.

“It is our hope today that we may in some way be a valued part of your new journey,” he said, “that we may help in some way to find your path to a new normal.”

He called the inscriptions on the wall a “mere token of our everlasting dedication to the memory of their sacrifice.”

“We consecrate this ground with an eternal flame not to end a journey but to light your way on a new journey to a new normal.”

The honorees

Deputy Michael A. Brandle, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office
On May 21, 2015, Deputy Brandle, 33, suffered a fatal heart attack while participating in sniper training.

Officer Sonny L. Kim, Cincinnati Police Department
On June 19, 2015, Officer Kim, 48, was slain in an ambush.

Officer Nathan J. Van Oort Sr., Ohio University Police Department
On Nov. 7, 2015, Officer Van Oort died as a result of a lightning strike in 2006.

Historical Induction:
 
Det. Alfred Knight, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Police Department
 On Sept. 15, 1927, Det. Alfred Knight, 25, was shot and killed in a gunbattle near Dayton. 

K-9 plaque placed on display

In May, the Ohio Peace Officers’ Memorial Ceremony for the first time honored fallen K-9 officers. A K-9 memorial plaque has been placed on permanent display in the lobby of the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy. Those honored:

Falko, Toledo Police Department
On Aug. 12, 2015, K-9 Falko was shot and killed while pursuing a suspect.
 
Historical K-9 Inductions:
Bandit, Cincinnati Police Department — End of Watch: April 16, 1987          
Cero, Ashtabula County Sheriff’s Office — End of Watch: March 25, 2000   
Bungee, New Albany Police Department — End of Watch: May 25, 2011       
Andy, Vermilion Police Department — End of Watch: June 26, 2012