North Carolina Police Balk at Joint Memorial
Police don't want the names of fallen firefighters and rescue personnel included.
May 8--NEWTON -- Public safety officers killed in the line of duty will be honored on a memorial at the Catawba County Justice Center. But some police officers say the memorial should be for police only -- as originally proposed.
The Catawba County Board of Commissioners approved the memorial Monday.
The memorial will be three feet high by five feet wide and located next to the flagpole at the Justice Center. It will contain four symbols representing local law enforcement, fire, emergency management personnel and rescue responders.
County government and local municipalities will pay the cost of erecting the memorial.
A groundbreaking is expected in early to mid-June.
A committee formed to look at the memorial issue, guidelines and other details will now develop criteria to determine which officers will be honored.
A handful of public services personnel have died in the line of duty, including a couple of sheriff's deputies.
"We've been fortunate that we haven't had many officers killed in the line of duty," said Catawba County Sheriff David Huffman.
While four people on the nine-member committee are involved in law enforcement, some police officers believe a memorial just for law officers is needed.
Newton Police Sgt. Tim Hayes spoke on behalf of the Catawba County Fraternal Order of Police.
He mentioned the commissioners' approval of $85,000 in the early 1990s to construct a firefighters museum and memorial. Hayes also pointed out three separate national memorials exist, one each for police, fire and emergency personnel.
"The firefighters already have a memorial for fallen firefighters and we're not requesting any money," said Hayes, who has also been a firefighter for the past 14 years. "I support the committee and their goals ... I just wish it (the memorial) would have been only law enforcement."
In April 2006, the Catawba County Fraternal Order of Police President Carl Pope approached the commissioners asking for a memorial for fallen police officers.
The committee returned with a recommendation that the memorial include all public service personnel.
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