Youngstown ceremony honors 26 officers who died in line of duty

By Joe Gorman | May 28, 2016 at 12:06a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

William Freed died in the line of duty as a Youngstown police officer in May 1891.

Friday, Freed’s colleagues who wear the badge today made sure he and all others who have died in Mahoning County since then are remembered at the annual Fallen Officers Memorial at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church.

The event was organized by the Youngstown Police Department Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 28 and the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office FOP 141.

A total of 26 officers have died in the line of duty in the county, according to statistics provided by the organizers of the memorial, with Freed being the first. The most recent was Deputy Robert Conway of the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office, who died of a heart attack Feb. 1, 2012, while on duty.

There were songs and presentations and a motorcycle procession to honor the fallen officers. Austintown Police Chief Bob Gavalier, one of the speakers, said their lives and how they did their duty is a common thread that runs through police work.

“There is a special sense of unity here, a presence that ties us all together,” Gavalier said.

Gavalier said police officers are sworn to protect people they do not even know, and to put the safety of strangers above their own. He said they often are asked to confront evil head-on and that when an officer is killed, society as a whole suffers.

“The murder of an officer of the law is an attack on peaceful society,” Gavalier said.

State Rep. Michele LePore-Hagan of Youngstown, D-58th, presented a proclamation from the Ohio House. She said it was an honor to be able to participate in the ceremony, adding people must remember the sacrifices that police officers make.

Retired city police officer Detective Sgt. Elrico Alli, president of the Youngstown FOP lodge, and Joe Iberis of the sheriff’s office FOP, read the names of all 26 officers, and a flower was placed on a wreath when each name was called out. For some, an officer was accompanied by a family member to place the flower.

Councilwoman Anita Davis, D-6th, a retired detective sergeant with the police department, said she knew some of those who were being honored who died on duty.

“They may be gone from my presence but they will always be in our hearts,” Davis said.