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Blue Springs, MO —
With the strains of “Amazing Grace” in the background, 161 names were slowly read aloud Friday afternoon.
“The Bible instructs us to grieve ... and we gather here to do just that,” Pastor Dave Ferneau of Blue Springs Christian Church had said moments before.
The 161 are the peace officers – police and state troopers, Border Patrol agents, game wardens, prison guards, others – who died in the line of duty in 2011. They were honored Friday at the 11th annual Fallen Officer Memorial Service in Blue Springs.
The last name read was that of Riverside Master Patrolman Jeff Taylor, who died last June when struck by lightning while working in the aftermath of the Joplin tornado. He was among seven fallen officers listed by the governor’s office as dying in the line of duty last year, including State Trooper Fred Guthrie Jr., who along with his canine Reed was swept into flood waters in Holt County on Aug. 1 while on patrol during Missouri River flooding.
Ferneau said he took a ride-along with an officer last winter.
“And what struck me is the many different situations an officer must be prepared for,” he said. At different times, he said, he was sure officers face the fear of danger, the fear of the unknown and the fear of death, but he said there is no higher calling than to protect the innocent and bring the guilty to justice in the face of all that.
Ferneau highlighted the danger to officers not just of gunfire in the line of duty but of ambush-style attacks. He pointed to the killing in December of Atchison, Kan., Sgt. David Enzbrenner, who was helping a code enforcement officer serve a nuisance order. A man unrelated to the case but who apparently bore a grudge against police because his father was in prison approached. He opened fire without warning.
Enzbrenner, a 24-year veteran of the department, died, leaving a wife and three children, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page at www.odmp.org. The shooter then killed himself.
Enzbrenner was one of 67 officers fatally shot by someone else last year. Another 34 died in auto accidents, 12 died in vehicular assaults, five died in assaults, and two were stabbed. Four died in vehicular pursuits, one died when an aircraft went down, 11 had heart attacks, and four drowned.
All, Ferneau said, “brought honor and glory to their maker” and showed bravery and self-sacrifice.
“And I would like to suggest to you,” he said, “that the best way we can honor them is to live our lives honorably.”
Specifically, he suggested being grateful for life itself and not taking things for granted, being thankful for America, and influencing the community and the world in good ways.
After Ferneau’s comments and the reading of the names, the ceremony concluded outside the Blue Springs Public Safety Building – named for former Police Chief Howard L. Brown – with a salute of gunfire, the release of doves and a prayer.
With the strains of “Amazing Grace” in the background, 161 names were slowly read aloud Friday afternoon.
“The Bible instructs us to grieve ... and we gather here to do just that,” Pastor Dave Ferneau of Blue Springs Christian Church had said moments before.
The 161 are the peace officers – police and state troopers, Border Patrol agents, game wardens, prison guards, others – who died in the line of duty in 2011. They were honored Friday at the 11th annual Fallen Officer Memorial Service in Blue Springs.
The last name read was that of Riverside Master Patrolman Jeff Taylor, who died last June when struck by lightning while working in the aftermath of the Joplin tornado. He was among seven fallen officers listed by the governor’s office as dying in the line of duty last year, including State Trooper Fred Guthrie Jr., who along with his canine Reed was swept into flood waters in Holt County on Aug. 1 while on patrol during Missouri River flooding.
Ferneau said he took a ride-along with an officer last winter.
“And what struck me is the many different situations an officer must be prepared for,” he said. At different times, he said, he was sure officers face the fear of danger, the fear of the unknown and the fear of death, but he said there is no higher calling than to protect the innocent and bring the guilty to justice in the face of all that.
Ferneau highlighted the danger to officers not just of gunfire in the line of duty but of ambush-style attacks. He pointed to the killing in December of Atchison, Kan., Sgt. David Enzbrenner, who was helping a code enforcement officer serve a nuisance order. A man unrelated to the case but who apparently bore a grudge against police because his father was in prison approached. He opened fire without warning.
Enzbrenner, a 24-year veteran of the department, died, leaving a wife and three children, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page at www.odmp.org. The shooter then killed himself.
Enzbrenner was one of 67 officers fatally shot by someone else last year. Another 34 died in auto accidents, 12 died in vehicular assaults, five died in assaults, and two were stabbed. Four died in vehicular pursuits, one died when an aircraft went down, 11 had heart attacks, and four drowned.
All, Ferneau said, “brought honor and glory to their maker” and showed bravery and self-sacrifice.
“And I would like to suggest to you,” he said, “that the best way we can honor them is to live our lives honorably.”
Specifically, he suggested being grateful for life itself and not taking things for granted, being thankful for America, and influencing the community and the world in good ways.
After Ferneau’s comments and the reading of the names, the ceremony concluded outside the Blue Springs Public Safety Building – named for former Police Chief Howard L. Brown – with a salute of gunfire, the release of doves and a prayer.
