Police Department

Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony - Tomorrow 11:30 am

Monique Cotton, Public Information & Communication Director, 509.363.8285

Monday, May 5, 2014 at 5:14 p.m.

The Spokane Police Department, along with other local law enforcement agencies will recognize officers who were killed in the line of duty tomorrow, May 6, 2014, at 11:30 a.m., at the Public Safety Building Cul-de-sac (1100 W. Mallon).

Tomorrow’s service will mark the 27th annual memorial service and will feature Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo as the guest speaker. The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office will be adding Deputy Sheriff James F. Chatfield to the memorial. Chatfield was killed in July of 1921 after he engaged two individuals believed to be bootleggers and/or narcotics smugglers near the Canadian Border (in Blaine, WA), exchanged gunfire, and died of a gunshot wound.

Law enforcement officers are added to the memorial as information regarding their line of duty death is made available to the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Project Committee (LEOMP). With the addition of the four names tomorrow, there will be 315 names on the memorial. Other officer names to be added to the memorial tomorrow include:

• Wapato Police Department Officer Derek “Chip” Hansen – He died in March of 2014 of complications from injuries suffered when he was attacked by a suspect in July of 2011.
• Washington State Patrol Trooper Sean Michael O’Connell, Jr. – He was killed in May of 2013 when he was hit by an on-coming truck while directing traffic.
• Bellingham Police Department Patrolman Otto Brown – He died as a result of an on-duty motorcycle accident in January of 1930.

The memorial service will include:

• The Spokane Fire Department ladder truck and American Flag (photo attached)
• Families of the officers killed in the line of duty
• Local law enforcement leaders including Mayor David Condon, Chief Straub, WSP Captain Jeff Otis, Spokane Valley Police Chief Rick VanLeuven, U.S. Border Patrol Spokane Sector Chief Gloria Chavez, and many others.

Photo 1

• Newer
• Older