Local law enforcement officers who paid the ultimate sacrifice were remembered Thursday at an annual event held in their honor.
Clark County Sheriff Chuck Atkins addressed the crowd at the Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony by sharing what he’s learned from some of the losses that personally affected him during his 37-year law enforcement career.
“I ask myself at the end of each shift, ‘How did you do today?’ and ‘Did I do something that was stupid enough that could have gotten me or someone else hurt or killed?’ ” he said. “I also ask myself, ‘Did I do my job today, to protect and serve?’ ”
Atkins recounted the deaths of some of his colleagues, one of whom was sheriff’s office Sgt. Brad Crawford, who was killed in 2004 when a fleeing suspect T-boned his patrol car. He said that he was on the phone with Crawford just moments before the tragic sequence of events occurred.
“I can still remember my last words,” Atkins said, choking up at the memory. “I told him help was coming.”
He said that he was sharing his personal memories to those in attendance to help him say thank you for those who choose to serve the community despite the inherent dangers and to thank those who support them and their families in times of loss.
“I hope we all come away today with a sense of just what it really means to protect and serve as a law enforcement officer and the impact felt by family, friends and community when one of their finest is killed in the line of duty,” he said.
The event, held in the Public Service Center courtyard in Vancouver, included the posting of colors by a multi-agency honor guard, bagpipes, a 21-gun salute and bugle performances of “Amazing Grace” and taps.
Battle Ground Police Chief Bob Richardson said that at the event, he can’t help but think of the colleagues he’s lost.
“I still get emotional talking about it,” Richardson said.
He said that he has come every year he’s lived in Clark County and said he plans to continue the tradition.
“It’s a very difficult job to do and it’d be wrong to forget the sacrifices over the years,” he said. “They sacrificed their lives for strangers.”
Dean Van Nostern, 75, of Vancouver said he doesn’t know any law enforcement officers who have died, but attended to pay respects.
“In memory of fallen officers, as simple as that,” he said. “They protect our community and they need our protection also. They need our support.”
Van Nostern has been a volunteer through the Vancouver Police Department’s Neighbors on Watch program for more than four years and said he’s enjoyed working with officers.
“They serve our community,” he said. “They need all the respect they can get, especially in these trying times.”
Pastor Matt Hannan of New Heights Church, who gave the invocation at the ceremony, also touched upon the nationwide criticism law enforcement has received in recent years.
“These are days of really unbelievable treatment of those who are law enforcement,” he said. “As we honor these fallen (officers), we acknowledge those who stand.”
