Marshall Police Department holds event honoring fallen officers

MARSHALL, Texas (KLTV) - The Harrison County Sheriff’s Office and Marshall Police held a service honoring law enforcement killed in the line of duty on Peace Officers Memorial Day.

Marshall Police Chief Cliff Carruth and Harrison County Sheriff B.J. Fletcher said they have been holding the service for over twenty years.

“You know, it’s sad. We live in a dangerous world at times; I think at all times for officers. You know, what we do, I think, is as important or more important than it ever has been since I’ve been doing this for over 33 years,” Carruth said.

Law enforcement officers never know what the next call will hold. Sheriff Fletcher said he wasn’t sure what he was going to talk about at the service until he spent some time with his kids Sunday night.

“You just hope that whatever that last moment was before they left this earth, where they saw their children, that it was a happy moment, that it was a moment that they can remember forever. And, I was laughing with my kids last night, and they were playing, and I was thinking, you know, what if this was my last moment? What would they remember the most?” Fletcher said.

A small Texas flag stood on a table and was saluted by a member of law enforcement as the roll call of 36 fallen Texas officers was read.

“It’s sad to get together for that, but it’s important to recognize them: the sacrifices that they made and their families,” Carruth said.

Smith County Deputy Lorenzo Bustos, who was killed in the line of duty last July, was among the fallen, a victim of vehicular assault.

“Had a couple people come up to me afterwards and say that they had cried. I think it’s the photographs of the fallen officers, when you personalize that and realize that it’s not a number, it’s not a name: it’s a person and family. It brings it back home,” Carruth said.

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund announced that 556 officers died nationwide in 2022.

Police Officers Memorial Day was started in 1962 when President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation designating May 15 to honor fallen officers. The week following is Police Week.

Copyright 2023 KLTV. All rights reserved.