Community remembers fallen officers, honors them with memorial
May 16—At the Morgan County Fallen Officers Memorial Service, Judge Takisha Gholston posed the question: How do we honor the police who have died while serving the people of Morgan County?
Area law enforcement, family members of the deceased and residents gathered Thursday morning in Cotaco Park, located behind the Morgan County Courthouse, to commemorate the 10 officers who have died while on duty in Morgan County. Their deaths occurred between 1905 and 1985.
"We honor them by living a life of service worthy of their sacrifice," said Gholston, Decatur's Municipal Court judge.
Morgan County Sheriff Ron Puckett opened the memorial. He said law enforcement members act as public servants who love their community so much that they're willing to risk their lives every day.
The service included the posting of the colors and a 21-gun salute. Two local high school students sang the National Anthem and "Amazing Grace."
Jerry Baker, pastor of St. Peter Missionary Baptist Church, delivered an invocation. He referenced a passage in the Bible in which Jesus says that the greatest love is to lay down your life for your friends.
An officer has not died on duty in Morgan County in 40 years, but Puckett said the job poses a risk every day.
"Unfortunately, the world we live in, it could happen today; however, the really good news for us is that we live in a community that not only supports law enforcement, but they honor them," Puckett said.
In the keynote address, Gholston said police demonstrate four qualities each day, which Decatur residents should also strive to uphold: humility, compassion, honor and integrity.
Following a county and city proclamation, Alan McDearmond, chief of Hartselle Police Department, read the roll call of fallen officers. With each name, an agent came forward to the memorial monument and presented a rose for the deceased.
"It's very humbling to be asked to do it and obviously very humbling to read the names, as well," McDearmond said. "William Biles actually was killed near Brewer (High School) a couple years before I started there."
McDearmond said the loss of Morgan County Deputy Charles "Bill" Biles was at the forefront of his mind when he began to serve the same community. Biles died in 1985, and McDearmond believes that he may have stopped a school shooting with his sacrifice.
The memorial offers a chance for area law enforcement to bond, McDearmond said.
"It brings all the officers together, and I think that it strengthens our relationships amongst each other," he said, "to assist each other and do the best we can for all the citizens of Morgan County."
Morgan County Commission Chairman Ray Long has participated in the Fallen Officers Memorial for 15 years. He expressed his respect for both the deceased and current law enforcement.
"I always say it's not a job; it's a calling," Long said. "You have to be called to be in law enforcement because it's such a sacrifice that you make for yourselves and your families."
Thursday's service was part of National Police Week, which started in 1962, when President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation.
In 2024, 147 officers nationwide died while in the line of duty, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
In the city proclamation, Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling noted that every 58 hours, a law enforcement agent dies while on duty.
"It's so important that we remember the fallen officers and we give thanks that we haven't seen that in the county since 1985," Bowling said.
— GraciAnn.Goodin@DecaturDaily.com or 256-340-2437
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