The Columbus Police Department closed out National Police Week Friday with a ceremony honoring fallen officers from around the country.
The ceremony at the Columbus Police and Municipal Complex featured prayers and scripture readings in honor of law enforcement officers before wreaths were laid at the fallen officers monument in front of the police department.
“The Columbus Police Department has never lost an officer, and I hope that doesn”t change for 100 years,” said Chief Joseph St. John.
But Columbus has lost officers in other ways.
The families of officers Tommy King and Ralph Hall, who both succumbed to cancer, were recognized and presented with commemorative items.
Goldie Hall, Ralph Hall”s widow, said she wondered whether her husband, an auxiliary officer from 2006 to 2008 when he died at 64, would be appreciated for working for free.
“I said ”You”re not going to get paid for that. Why are you doing this at your age? You”re supposed to be retired,”” she recalled. “He said ”I love this. I love doing this.””
Goldie Hall says she got her answer Friday.
“This means a great deal. I”m glad people appreciated what he did. He would have been ecstatic just to know that people cared.”
Tommy King, who passed in 2007 at the age of 38, worked for years as an auxiliary officer before finally becoming a full officer. He served two years full duty.
During his comments, St. John pointed out the danger and stress officers face on a daily basis, sometimes for as little as $11 an hour.
He says the CPD receives a great deal of support from the community, but there are also those who fail to recognize the service the police provide as they attempt to preserve order while allowing maximum freedom.
“Every day it”s a balancing act,” he said.
The names of all the law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty during 2009, including four from Mississippi, were read aloud before “Taps” was played in their honor.
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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