Clark County law enforcement, elected officials and members of the public gathered Thursday in downtown Vancouver to honor officers who have been killed in the line of duty.
“Prior to accepting the responsibility of the badge, each of our officers and our heroes recognizes the threat to their personal safety. We should all be mindful of the added challenges to their emotional, psychological and social well-being due to the repeated and pervasive stresses of the job,” said Clark County Superior Court Judge Daniel Stahnke, this year’s guest speaker.
“They recognize that we expect them to swallow their own fears and make instantaneous decisions to situations they have very little information of or control over,” Stahnke added.
Many of those in attendance at the Clark County Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony stood in the back of the plaza at the county’s Public Service Center as flags were raised, the national anthem was sung, prayers were offered and Stahnke delivered his speech.
Two Washington sheriff’s deputies were killed last year, and statewide, another two law enforcement officers were killed earlier this year.
On Jan. 8, 2018, Pierce County sheriff’s Deputy Daniel McCartney died while investigating a burglary. He was fatally shot while chasing a suspect on foot.
Six months later, Kent police Officer Diego Moreno was struck and killed by a patrol car while deploying spike strips during a vehicle pursuit.
The last time a local officer died while performing their job was in 2004. Clark County sheriff’s Sgt. Bradley W. Crawford was killed July 30 of that year when his patrol car was intentionally rammed by a vehicle whose driver was fleeing a standoff.
Crawford’s daughter, Darcy Newton, attended the ceremony. Newton said she or other family members try to make it every year. She expressed gratitude for how the county champions its officers.
“There’s a lot of negative press surrounding law enforcement. It’s a hard job, and they’re asked to make quick decisions. There are bad outcomes in situations in a lot of professions, but the majority of (officers) are doing it right, working to protect us,” Newton said.
She also believes that much of the public holds the same sentiment, she said, as evidenced by the outpouring of support and crowds of people who gathered on freeway overpasses following the April 13 death of Cowlitz County sheriff’s Deputy Justin DeRosier.
DeRosier, 29, was shot while responding to a call about a disabled motor home blocking a road outside of Kalama. He was able to take cover and call for assistance but died in surgery at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver.
The suspect, Brian Butts, was fatally shot by Kelso police the following day. Authorities say he ran out of the woods holding a handgun.
DeRosier’s funeral in Portland was packed with thousands of mourners, including officers who traveled from around the Pacific Northwest. In Clark County, crowds gathered on Interstate 5 overpasses to view the procession from the Cowlitz County Fairgrounds in Longview to the University of Portland’s Chiles Center.
Also this year, Kittitas County sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Thompson was killed March 19 while responding to a road rage incident and attempting to stop the suspect vehicle. Following a pursuit on Interstate 90, the driver opened fire on officers, fatally wounding Thompson and seriously injuring a Kittitas police officer. The suspect was killed in the ensuing shootout.
Across the nation, 163 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty in 2018. That’s 34 more than the year before. Over the past decade, a total of 1,582 law enforcement officers died on the job, nationally — an average of one death every 55 hours or 158 officers per year, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
“At the end of the day, they’re just like you and I. They’re our neighbors,” Stahnke told the crowd.
