On the Job 

Retired officer Rob Winebrenner has been to many police memorials through the years, but he will never think of them the same way again, he said, after attending the 2015 Ohio Peace Officers’ Memorial Ceremony, which honored his son.

Officer Justin R. Winebrenner of the Akron Police Department was shot and killed on Nov. 16, 2014, while off duty. The 32-year-old was enjoying a night out at a pub with friends and his fiancee, Tiffany Miller, when a disgruntled patron, who had been asked by management to leave, returned with a gun. When the patron began firing, wounding four others in the bar, Winebrenner forced the man outside but was shot twice in the process. The suspect was arrested a short time later.
 
“Ultimately, he did exactly what he was trained to do,” Rob Winebrenner, formerly of the Barberton Police Department, said after the May 7 ceremony. “He ran toward, instead of away. And I’m proud, very proud.”
 
In reflecting on that night, Miller said, “I’m here today because of him.”
 
To Miller, the most touching part of the ceremony was seeing her fiance’s patrol car in the motorcade.
 
“I loved seeing his police car come through in the line,” she said. “It brought a smile to my face to replace the tears.”
 
Hundreds of law enforcement officers and their families gathered to pay their respects at the memorial service, which is conducted each May at the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy in London.
 
In the keynote address, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine celebrated the life of Officer Justin R. Winebrenner and spoke of his commendations for breaking up a burglary ring and rescuing a man from a burning vehicle.
 
“Today, we remember this courageous, selfless peace officer who joins 766 others who have died in the line of duty since 1823.”
 
Winebrenner’s name and the names of three law enforcement officers nominated for historical induction were added to the Ohio Fallen Officers’ Memorial Wall.
 
The other names are:

Assistant Marshal Albert Schmitt of the Cheviot Police Department died May 29, 1921, after a motorcyclist he was pursuing intentionally collided with his bike causing him to crash.
 
Sheriff Forest S. Hager of the Union County Sheriff’s Office died on Sept. 23, 1927, when his vehicle was struck by a train.
 
Trooper Michael A. Paris Sr. of the Ohio State Highway Patrol died on Aug. 1, 2012, when he suffered a heart attack after making a traffic stop involving a belligerent motorist.