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Pictured above are some of the local law enforcement officials
in attendance at the fifth annual Carroll County Peace
Officers Memorial Day service.
"It was a sad and tragic year due to all the murders we
had," said Sheriff Bendell Bartholomew on a day set aside each
year to honor members of law enforcement and remember those
whose lives have been lost in the line of duty. He continues,
"I'm glad everything came together and we got the people in
custody that did it."
Taking the opportunity to relax under the pavilion of the
Carroll County fairgrounds Thursday, May 19, prior to the
fifth annual Carroll County Peace Officer's Memorial Day
gathering, Bartholomew nods in remembrance of hard days when
the county was hit with a succession of murders--five in less
than two months--as well as two vehicular homicides and one
unsolved missing person case within the same time period.
"It was terrible," he recalls, regarding the strain of working
long hours over many days with little rest. "Everybody worked
real hard on it, pulled together, our department and all the
local departments and the TBI. It was a team effort between
our department and all the other departments, especially
Huntingdon."
The investigations proceeded without incident, though
Bartholomew points out, "Any time you deal with murder there
is a risk of bodily harm and another risk when you work that
long and that hard. A body can take just so much; when you get
real tired your mind's not working 100 percent."
Bartholomew deals another blow to small town Southern comfort
with his next observation: "On top of all the murders, we had
all the meth cases, which has been a big thorn in our side for
three or four years now."
A veteran lawman with 21 years under his belt, the 58-year-old
sheriff says he still loves his job. "I just got started in it
and it's something I've enjoyed doing, trying to help people
and solve crimes too; it gets in your blood and when you get
started in it, it's hard to stop."
The fifth annual Carroll County Peace Officer's Memorial Day
event was perhaps a greater success than ever before with near
100 members of the law enforcement, legal, and public service
communities present for the service.
A lengthy procession in funerary display, with headlights
illuminated and led by Huntingdon Public Safety Director Joe
Parker, proceeded to the court square following the service,
where a red, white and blue wreath was placed on the monument
that reads, "In the memory of Mark Pinson and other officers
who have died in the line of duty."
Pinson was going off-duty in his role as a deputy sheriff on
November 20, 1976, when he and Sheriff Lawrence "Bub" Garrett
responded to an accident in which two teens--18-year-old
Jeffery Swafford of Bruceton and 19-year-old Robert Brooks of
Nashville--crashed into the home of Mr. and Mrs. C.F. Radford
shortly after 1 a.m.
Pinson pulled the driver to safety and had returned for the
passenger when the automobile exploded into flames, killing
32-year-old Pinson as well as the passenger. Thankfully, no
names follow in the spaces reserved for future, martyred law
officers of Carroll County.
Nevertheless, in the year since the officers last assembled in
honor of their profession and in homage to their fallen
comrades, their numbers were reduced by the loss of several
veterans, among them, from McKenzie, former Police Chief Aaron
Pinson, officer Donald Hutchison and dispatcher Faye Nored,
and former Huntingdon officers Wilburn Springer, Russell
Pearson, and Roger Roberts. Roberts was lauded as one of the
organizers of the Carroll County memorial event.
David Jolley, United States marshal,
addresses those in attendance at the fifth annual Peace
Officers Memorial Day in Huntingdon.
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The dedication followed a banquet of rib-eye steak prepared
by award winning barbecuer and sheriff's Deputy Mike Verner,
and encouragement offered by guest speaker David Jolley,
United States marshal. Jolley boasts roots in the Pleasant
Hill/Cedar Grove communities, as did former U.S. Marshal John
T. Williams, who, appointed by President Eisenhower in the
1950s, was the most recent marshal, before Jolley, to hail
from Carroll County.
Jolley called upon citizens to join those in attendance in
remembering officers who died in service to their calling as
well as those who daily serve, noting even routine duties can
place officers in mortal danger without warning.
He recalled United States Marshal Robert Forsyth, who was
killed in the line of duty when he and two of his deputies
sought merely to serve papers regarding a civil suit upon
brothers Beverly and William Allen.
It was January 11, 1794, when the brothers bolted into an
upstairs bedroom and waited for the deputies to follow. A shot
fired by Beverly splintered the door, striking Forsyth in the
head. He became, 211 years ago, the first of over 400 U.S.
marshals killed in the performance of their duties.
President George W. Bush, in Washington, had paid homage over
the weekend to 156 law enforcement officers killed in the line
of duty in 2004, including Sgt. Andy Bailey, a 30-year veteran
of the Jackson Police Department who was shot and killed in
June last year following the pursuit of a shooting suspect.
Bailey left behind two sons and a daughter.
The officers' names were added to the National Law Enforcement
Officers Memorial along with 259 others whose deaths had not
yet been engraved on the 1991 memorial, 21 of whom were from
West Tennessee, according to Jolley, bringing the total to
over 17,000 names.
"The common thread was not how they died, but how they lived,"
said Jolley, but noted, "Nothing is more moving than the
funeral of a fallen officer."
Jessica Tucker sings "The Star Spangled
Banner".
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He quoted national Fraternal Order of Police President Steve
Young, who said, "The blue fabric of law enforcement is woven
tightly together, and never so tight as when one of their own
is torn away."
It was a sentiment echoed by Bush, who on Sunday had declared,
"The bonds between officers are strong -- and you look out for
each other on sunny mornings and in the shadows of danger.
Your loyalty to one another and your service to America do
great honor to our system of justice. Thank you for your
service."
Jolley pondered that, with the answer to "why?" being elusive,
it was left to those who remained to trust in the "unseen hand
of providence" and continue in their duty of protecting their
communities.
"In valor there is hope," he said, quoting the inscription on
the memorial's east wall.
The service was laced with prayers for safety and heartfelt
service, with Bruceton Church of Christ Pastor Ted Gentle
providing the opening prayer and Pastor Fred Ward of
Huntingdon's First Baptist Church bringing to a close the
initial service. At the dedication ceremony on the court
square, Sheriff's Deputy Rick Crossno was eloquent in prayer
as he evoked John 15:13: "Greater love has no one than this,
that he lay down his life for his friends."
"Make us a terror to the wicked and a humble servant to the
righteous," he prayed.
The service was abbreviated by an intermittent, refreshing
drizzle of rain reminiscent of the previous year's downpour.
Earlier, Huntingdon's Chief Parker, who is also in charge of
the town's Fire Department, commented, "We've had a busy year,
but it's been a good year, I think. We helped the Sheriff's
Department in a joint effort and were able to solve several
murder cases and put a lot of people's fears to rest."
He acknowledged, "Any police officer, when he puts a badge on,
assumes a certain amount of danger but I think every officer
doesn't think much about that; it's just part of the job."
Local law enforcement officials
taking part in the presentation pf Peace Officers Memorial Day
were, l-r: Huntingdon Public Safety Director Joe Parker,
McKenzie Police Officer Sgt. Jackie Sykes, Huntingdon's Lt.
Johnny Hill, Sheriff's Deputy Rick Crossno, county
Investigator Becky Keith, and local songstress Jessica Tucker,
shown here singing "Amazing Grace".
Parker observed improvements in technology had greatly
enhanced modern law enforcement, with computers being the
number one asset. Another plus, he said, is better
communication between law enforcement groups all the way up to
the federal level, thanks to changes that came about after
9-11.
He also said he is impressed with the caliber of young
officers entering the force these days.
"I think we're seeing a lot of young officers coming in with
talent and wanting to help others and that's dedicated to
their profession; there's more professionalism, they seem
mature for their age. When I started in the 70s they just
asked if we had a gun and could we come to work at 6:00. Law
enforcement has improved a lot over the years."
Huntingdon Police Investigator Johnny Hill may have alluded to
part of the reason for the change in his recitation of the
poem, "Blood Upon the Shield", a portion of which mentions the
importance of law enforcement personnel interacting with
youth: "You stand out on the corner, ignoring the insults and
the stares, close to the point of believing that no one really
cares, when a six-year-old boy walks over after watching you
for awhile, reaching out to shake your hand, on his face a
friendly smile. To him you are a hero, a protector of our
land, and he wants to learn about you, as a cop and as a man."
Local communities are the fortunate recipients of an important
law enforcement tool in the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance
Education) and G.R.E.A.T. (Gang Resistance Education and
Training) programs that build character in school children as
well as respect for law enforcement offers.
The TennesseeAnytime.com Web site makes no bones about the
confidence the state puts in the programs: "They're our kids.
Our future. Our legacy. And we all want the same thing for
them - the best," it says. "We want their futures to be
bright, secure, healthy and safe. And we want them to succeed.
We want them to join us in the worlds of business and
commerce, law and medicine, manufacturing and selling,
teaching and serving.
That's why we care. We care about their ability to cope with
the challenges of life in contemporary America. We care about
their capacity to resist the negative influences around them.
We want them to focus instead on their strengths and their
potential."
McKenzie Police Officer Jackie Sykes, president of the local
chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police (the organization
that each year sponsors the memorial day event) and of the
Tennessee D.A.R.E. Officers Association, works as school
resource officer as well as D.A.R.E. and G.R.E.A.T. instructor
for all schools in McKenzie. Sheriff's Department Investigator
Becky Keith operates the programs in Clarksburg and West
Carroll, Investigator Randy Kelley in Bruceton, and Patrolman
Joey Hedge in Huntingdon.
Sykes takes pride in pointing out tangible evidence of the
students' progress in the flower garden being built around the
flagpole at McKenzie Middle School, thanks to the efforts of
the sixth grade G.R.E.A.T. program, who raised $749 in pennies
for the project.
Through hands-on scenarios and field trips, to the high school
level's fun and enlightening "fatal vision" week that, with
the use of special goggles, mimics varying degrees of
intoxication, students learn on a personal level that their
success in life depends upon wise choices.
"We've had a good school year," said Sykes as the school year
drew to a close, "and they had a super good time--and it's
life skills (that the children are learning.) It's just a
great feeling."
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