HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Once again, local law enforcement gathered to remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty with the annual Peace Officers Memorial ceremony.
Opening remarks were made by Reno County Sheriff Darrian Campbell. This year, the guest speaker was once again Retired Lt. Col. Alan Stoecklein from the Kansas Highway Patrol. In addition to his distinguished career with the Kansas Highway Patrol, Lt. Col. Stoecklein also served as interim Chief of Police for the Hutchinson Police Department before Chief Jeff Hooper was sworn in.
Hooper gave the closing remarks and the combined honor guard of the Reno County Sheriff's Department and Hutchinson Police Department presented the colors and the playing of taps.
Among those remembered Friday wasReno County Undersheriff Edward Metz, who died in 1901 when he was pushed under a train; Deputy Thomas Simpson Fowler, who was shot and killed by a burglary suspect in 1911; Officer Reason Sherman Monroe, who was fatally shot nine times while investigating a family disturbance in 1924; Police Lt. Shelby Comstock, who was shot and killed after stopping a vehicle in 1956; and Officer Kenneth M. Kennedy, who was shot and killed while investigating liquor crimes in 1972 and KHP Officer Conroy O’Brien who was shot and killed during a traffic stop on the Kansas Turnpike in 1978.
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