11-07-2025
As fallen officer is laid to rest, Milwaukee Police Department Honor Guard are the 'stoic protectors'
Sgt. Paul Graczyk still can't talk about the night Milwaukee police officer Peter Jerving died.
Graczyk was working with Jerving the night the officer was shot and killed while trying to arrest a robbery suspect in 2023.
At the time, Graczyk was a member of the police's honor guard — a team that performs the rituals honoring fallen officers until they are laid to rest.
Then, his closeness to Jerving's death was too much for him, and he quietly set aside his duties for the honor guard.
More than two years later, Graczyk is coordinating the honor guard ceremonies for fallen officer Kendall Corder. Corder died on June 29, three days after being shot by a suspect who authorities say had been hiding with a rifle. His funeral is July 11.
Corder, a six-year department veteran, has been remembered by family and friends as a kind person who worked hard to build the life he had and was giving toward others. Those who worked with him praised his service.
"We go out there every day knowing that we might not go home," Graczyk said in a recent interview. "I want to be able to say to those people that gave that sacrifice that we remember you."
The honor guard's 16 members are full department members who contribute to the role in their free time. Graczyk is the exception, who is working full time on coordinating the honor guard's efforts and on break from his regular role as a street sergeant at District 6.
That means planning practices for the flag and casket teams for the July 11 funeral and standing guard by Corder's body. Anytime the fallen officer is moved, the honor guard is there for the transportation.
The guard was on site at the hospital as well, Graczyk said. The group tried to have a minimal presence as the Corder family surrounded their loved one. He said they didn't want to loom as a sign of what could come.
"Once it initially happens, we just start kind of holding our breath," he said. "Hoping we don't have to do what we're about to do but expecting to."
"You're supposed to be the stoic guardians, the stoic protectors, the rock for the family," Graczyk added.
Corder is one of four police officers shot in the last two months in the Milwaukee area and the sixth officer killed in the line of duty since 2018.
Before, it had been 22 years since one of the city's officers died in duty.
Some officers had gone nearly their whole career without experiencing such a loss, since many retire after 25 years of service, Graczyk said.
"It's almost like you're waiting," he said. "It's like when you can see the thunderstorm off in the distance, but is it coming this way? You hope it never hits, but you have to be prepared for it."
Jerving was the last to die before Corder, and Graczyk remains emotional about his passing. But the man who coordinates the honoring of those who died is affected by every loss.
He and other officers note the outpouring of community support when such a tragedy happens and officers double down on their dedication to the work, he said.
"It reinvigorates everybody on this department to be better police officers," Graczyk said. "It's going to invigorate us on the honor guard. This is why we do this. We don't want to do it, but this is why we do this."
Graczyk knows all of the names of those who died by heart and listed them off, some by nickname.
"It's that all of those guys that we all worked with, that they're not forgotten," he said. "If we can remember to say their names, they'll live forever."
David Clarey is a public safety reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at dclarey@
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Police Honor Guard are 'stoic protectors' of fallen officers
