On the Job 

Larry R. Henderson Jr.
Deputy | Hamilton County Sheriff's Office | End of Watch: May 2, 2025
Deputy Henderson was a “Marine through and through” who served his country and his community until his final day. After a four-year stint in the Marine Corps, he spent 33 years with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, holding many of the most dangerous jobs in both endeavors. Within days of retiring from the sheriff’s office in December 2024, he was back working special duty. “Larry had a calling to this uniform,” Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey said. “That’s the only reason you continue to stay in this profession after you’ve retired.” Deputy Henderson died on May 2, 2025, after being run down by a motorist while working special detail for the University of Cincinnati’s graduation.
He was 57, married, the father of five grown children and a budding foster father to two infants.

D. Weston Sherrer
Deputy | Morrow County Sheriff's Office | End of Watch: May 26, 2025
As early as the first grade, Weston Sherrer knew what he wanted to do when he grew up.
“My big dream is to be a policeman,” he declared in a class assignment 25 years ago. “I want to catch the villains, and I’m willing to risk my life for the people in the United States.” Deputy Sherrer, it turned out, had not only the desire to work in law enforcement but also the courage and temperament. His ability to connect with people — to make them feel heard — fueled his success with the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office. Deputy Sherrer was fatally shot on Memorial Day last year during a domestic-violence call near Marengo. He was 31 and had just marked his fourth year with the sheriff’s office, his only law enforcement job.

Phillip C. Wagner
Officer | Lorain Police Department | End of Watch: July 24, 2025
Officer Wagner was a fierce protector — of his family, first and foremost, but also his country and his community. “Phil’s identity was father, husband, SWAT operator, cop,” said Lorain Police Officer Richard Fadenholz, a colleague and close friend. “He was a very big family man.” Officer Wagner loved God, too, and was increasingly finding “peace and rest through his relationship with Jesus,” his pastor said. He died on July 24, 2025, the day after he and another patrolman were ambushed by a gunman as they ate lunch in their cruisers. Officer Wagner was 35, a husband and a father of three. Before entering law enforcement, he served four years in the Marines, including a deployment to Afghanistan. He was the first Lorain officer to die in the line of duty since 1944.

Nicholas P. Cayton
Trooper | Ohio State Highway Patrol | End of Watch: Oct. 16, 2025
Wherever he went, whatever he was doing, Nick Cayton seemed to make a favorable impression. “He had such a knack for making people feel welcome,” childhood friend Brent Tharp said. “He was a magnet — that’s just who he was.” His charisma, intelligence and quick wit served him well throughout life, during a seven-year stint in the Ohio Army National Guard, college at Youngstown State University, training with the State Highway Patrol and beyond. Trooper Cayton, a 13-year veteran of the patrol, was killed on Oct. 16, 2025, when his cruiser was struck by a Mack truck in Canfield while he was helping the driver of a disabled tractor-trailer. He was 40, married to his high-school sweetheart, the father of two children, a devoted family man and a true public servant.