Saying goodbye ... and thank you
By Lee Williams
Published in News on May 9, 2007 1:52 PM
Their names no longer adorn a law enforcement roster, but the memory of the nine Wayne County lawmen who gave the ultimate sacrifice protecting the lives of others will forever be remembered.
Dozens of people gathered this morning at the annual Law Enforcement Memorial Service at Wayne Community College to mark the occasion.
One by one, they heard the names and the stories of the fallen officers who were killed in the line of duty.
*Jerry K. Best, a captain in the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, was killed on Nov. 13, 2002, while assisting a motorist who struck a deer.
*Michael L. Martin, a trooper for the N.C. Highway Patrol, was killed in a motor vehicle accident on July 21, 1988, while pursuing a fleeing motorcyclist.
*Walter J. Rouse, a Goldsboro police officer, was shot and killed on Feb. 27, 1968, while attempting to catch a robber.
*Walter Brannon Braswell, the chief for the Fremont Police Department, was shot and killed on Nov. 13, 1965, during an arrest.
*C. Frank Faircloth, a lieutenant, and Mahlon M. Parks, a patrolman for the Goldsboro Police Department, were killed in a vehicle accident on Sept. 19, 1960, while pursuing an accused bootlegger.
*Herbert C. Wiegand, a Goldsboro police officer was killed on March 9, 1940, while responding to a domestic dispute call.
*I.T. Moore, a trooper for the N.C. Highway Patrol, was shot and killed on June 18, 1937, while questioning two suspects .
*John Coor-Pender, a former legislator and sheriff for the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, was murdered in 1816 as he drove from his home to the county seat.
The ceremony included a wreath-laying, and remarks by members of the fallen officers' departments that brought home the stark reality that law enforcement officials face every day.
The ceremony served a precursor to Law Enforcement Officers Week in North Carolina and National Police Week May 13-19.