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Hundreds honor fallen officers
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Mahoning County Deputy Sheriff John Marenkovic escorts Marisa Litch of Struthers at the ceremony. Behind them is her brother Bobby Litch of Campbell. Their father, John ÒSonnyÓ Litch of the sheriff Õs department, was shot and killed Oct. 22, 1981.
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Mary Kay Hartzell of Austintown carries a rose to place at a memorial service honoring Mahoning CountyÕs police offi cers who died in the line of duty. HartzellÕs son, Michael T. Hartzell, a Youngstown police offi cer, was shot and killed April 29, 2003. She is escorted Thursday inside Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Youngstown, by Stephanie Harchar, a county deputy sheriff and HartzellÕs fi ancŽe. Behind them is HartzellÕs father, Howard. Twenty-four offi cers have died in service since 1891.
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Sonia Wilson fires a salute, with other members of the YPD, in honor of past fallen police officers during the Annual Fallen Officers Memorial.
Twenty-four Mahoning County police officers killed in the line of duty over the last 119 years were remembered during Thursday’s annual Fallen Officers Memorial at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Youngstown. Names, dates and departments of those who lost their lives:
William Freed, Youngstown: May 17, 1891.
Alfred Evans, Youngstown: Nov. 5, 1911.
Samuel Banks, Youngstown: Oct. 4, 1919.
John Constantino, Campbell: May 11, 1920.
Alexander Warren, Youngstown: May 3, 1921.
Walter Flickinger, Lowellville: June 7, 1923.
Joe Ruby, Campbell: Nov. 11, 1923.
George Leonard, Youngstown: March 29, 1924.
Ben Yeaden, Youngstown: Feb. 27, 1925.
Henry Clemens, Youngstown: Dec. 4, 1927.
John Harkins, Struthers: Jan. 1, 1952.
Raymond Darwich, Struthers: Nov. 16, 1952.
Frank Cichon, Youngstown: Dec. 21, 1963.
Albert Masi, Campbell: Feb. 12, 1973.
William “Bud” Comm, Youngstown State University: Aug. 12, 1975.
John “Sonny” Litch, Mahoning County Sheriff’s Department: Oct. 22, 1981.
Richard Becker, Poland Township: Nov. 6, 1983.
Ralph DeSalle, Youngstown: June 13, 1984.
Paul Durkin, Youngstown: Sept. 21, 1987.
Millard Williams, Youngstown: April 14, 1992.
Steve Malkovits, Youngstown: May 21, 1993.
Carmen “Skip” Renda, Youngstown/YSU: March 16, 1996.
William Rickets, New Middletown: April 2, 1997.
Michael T. Hartzell, Youngstown: April 29, 2003.
Source: Area departments
By SEAN BARRON
YOUNGSTOWN
Kathleen Shutrump never met her maternal grandfather, Henry Clemens, but that’s never stopped her from honoring him every year for decades.
“I just feel it; I just need to be here,” said Shutrump, referring to Thursday’s annual Fallen Officers Memorial ceremony at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 343 Via Mount Carmel Drive.
The Canfield woman came to the somber ceremony to remember Clemens, one of 24 Mahoning County police officers killed in the line of duty since 1891.
Shutrump was one of hundreds of family members and descendants of those killed who attended the hourlong program, sponsored by the Mahoning County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 141, to honor the memories of the fallen. Also in the audience were law-enforcement personnel representing departments throughout Ohio.
Clemens, a patrolman with the Youngstown Police Department, was shot to death Dec. 4, 1927, after responding to a robbery at a tire store. He left three children under 18, the oldest being Shutrump’s mother, she said.
After the killing, Clemens’ children received $5,000, making them the first recipients of a benevolent fund set up to help families of fallen officers, Shutrump noted.
William Rickets, killed in a car accident April 2, 1997, while en route to Struthers Municipal Court, was remembered as a caring and loving family man.
The former New Middletown police chief also was a dedicated member of Mount Zion Lutheran Church who guided anyone who sought his help, recalled Vince D’Egidio, the current chief.
“Whatever it took to help someone out, he did,” D’Egidio said, adding that Rickets left a wife and three children.
“It was one of the most devastating times I’ve ever had in my [30-year] police career,” the chief added, referring to being called to identify Rickets.
Ralph DeSalle was another officer devoted to family, who also loved to play tennis and had a sense of humor, recalled his wife, Marilyn, of Canfield.
DeSalle, a 1962 Cardinal Mooney High School graduate, had served 13 years with the YPD before being hit by a truck and killed June 13, 1984, while directing traffic on a rain-slicked Interstate 680.
Ironically, it was DeSalle who taught several family members how to safely drive in the rain, noted his sister, Bernice. He also was her protector and big brother, she added.
Twenty years after her brother’s death, Bernice DeSalle said, she was told that he had saved the job of a then rookie officer by sneaking up on a juvenile who, during a confrontation near Market Street, was trying to grab the officer’s gun. Had the teen succeeded, the rookie would likely have been let go, she said.
Also at the ceremony were DeSalle’s daughter, Nicole, as well as Patty Magni and Kristen Domonkos, a cousin and niece, respectively.
The event’s main speaker was Nick DiMarco, president of the Ohio FOP, who said the fallen officers were heroes for how they lived, not died. It’s also important to resist taking officers’ everyday sacrifices for granted, he said.
“Survivors, your loss will never be forgotten by your law-enforcement family,” DiMarco added.
During the ceremony, fellow officers, some accompanied by family members of the fallen, placed a red rose inside a memorial wreath as each of the 24 names was read. Afterward, a candle was lit for each.
Also remembered and honored were Capts. Kenneth Centerame and Robert Kane of the YPD, both of whom died last year of illnesses. The two had nearly 74 years’ of combined service on the force, noted Elrico Alli, president of the Youngstown FOP Lodge 28.
Musical selections were by the Cleveland Police Pipe & Drums Corps.