Holmes County honors officers
With a large group of Millersburg Elementary students in attendance at the Peace Officer’s Memorial Ceremony, Holmes County prosecuting attorney Sean Warner spoke about honoring the men and women who serve in the name of peace and justice.
Ashland police officers William Kelly and Jacob Helbert went into a home to serve an arrest warrant, and in the process of doing their job, the two men were slain in active duty.
While that scenario may sound like it could have taken place this past week, month or year, it was a circumstance that took place in Ashland County 130 years ago in 1889.
While people fear the world has gotten worse, police officers have been performing their duties and putting their lives on the line for a long time. That is why a time is set aside each year to celebrate and honor the men and women who serve their respective communities so faithfully.
The annual Ohio Peace Officer’s Memorial Ceremony took place on the courthouse plaza on Thursday, May 16, where a contingency of people turned out to both honor and celebrate the many police officers who serve the state and the county.
For the law-enforcement memorial, Chief Matthew Shaner gave the Presentation of Men, and trooper James Donohue provided the welcome. After Lt. Eldon Trubee gave the invocation, the national anthem was sung by Brenda Boley.
Guest speaker Sean Warner, Holmes County prosecuting attorney, then turned his attention to the ideal of honoring the men and women who serve in the name of peace and justice, and he eluded to the 1889 incident in Ashland.
“It’s common to fear that the world is getting worse as time goes on,” Warner said. “But lest we are tempted to think that the world is a more dangerous place now than in the past, look back at those earlier years and you’ll realize that the world has always been a dangerous place. In that respect law enforcement has not changed much in 130 years.”
Warner spoke about the fragility of life and the bravery of those who protect the masses. He said they serve knowing that on any given day it could be them in the line of fire. He said officers must remain ever-diligent and stay on their guard while pressing on in serving their communities.
“I cannot claim the courage that each of you possess day in and day out,” Warner said, speaking to the many law officers in attendance. “But it is important to recognize your sacrifices.”
Six years ago President Barack Obama said during Peace Officer Memorial Day that the fallen officers being honored put themselves in the front lines of that battle to preserve that ideal, that quality of community. They were the personification of the very idea of citizenship.
“We can never repay our debt to those officers and their families, but we should do what we can, with all of our hearts, to live in a way that pays tribute to their memory,” Warner said.
He went on to talk about freedom being a product of law and order, and those who serve to uphold our safeties provide an environment for the area’s young people to learn and grow in safety.
“We are privileged with all of these things because of officers who watch our back regarding our safety,” Warner said. “We are free to live without being preoccupied with fear. For many of these peace officers, this is a calling, not a job. That calling is to stand up and be a part of the Thin Blue Line between order and chaos, between freedom and fear.”
Hyde said further exploration helped him identify all of the meanings behind the black and blue flag that symbolizes the Thin Blue Line and looks a great deal like the American flag.
Holmes County Judge Andrew Hyde dove into the meaning behind the Thin Blue Line, the flag, the symbols and the mantra police officers have adopted in a way of honoring and thanking the many who serve selflessly in the name of law enforcement.
Hyde admitted he didn’t know a lot about the term Thin Blue Line, but research led him to discover its meaning toward officers began in 1950 when a Los Angeles police department chief used the phrase Thin Blue Line to describe a documentary he created.
He noted the blue in the flag represents the officers and the courage they display deep inside when faced with insurmountable odds. The black background was designed as a constant reminder of fallen brother and sister officers. The white line is representative of the ideal to protect and be the barrier between anarchy and a civilized society.
“Together those things symbolize the camaraderie that law-enforcement officers all share,” Hyde said. “And the Thin Blue Line represents the officers who serve in the center of darkness, the darkness representing the evil in this world. It is the line that stands between good and evil, the barrier that serves those in need and protects them from the evil among us. It is a line that will not falter in the wake of the enemy.”
Hyde said in serving as a prosecuting attorney he has witnessed that evil many times, having sat with, eaten with, talked to, held the hand of and spoken through plexiglass windows to the evil of mankind.
“I have been inside the head of evil, and it looks at us every day, trying to find ways to take advantage of us,” Hyde said. “We are sheep living in a pasture, but surrounding that pasture there are wolves that walk around and prowl at night, watching us, looking for weaknesses.”
As it has in every year since its inception, the Ohio Peace Officer’s Memorial Ceremony honored the law-enforcement officers who have fallen in the line of duty over the past year.
In 2018 that list included police officer Anthony Pasquale Morelli and police officer Eric Joseph Joering of the Westerville Division of Police, police officer Mathew James Mazany of the Mentor Police Department, police officer Vu. X. Nguyen of Cleveland Division of Police, and K9 Benzi of the Columbus Division of Police.
Capt. Brad Conn told the stories of each of those who died in service, memorializing each for their service and commitment to serve and protect.
To end the event, Capt. Larry Purdy played taps on his trumpet, Trubee gave a closing prayer, and Shaner dismissed the men and women who serve to go back into their roles of protecting and serving the many who cannot.