Columbus Police Memorial
The memorial in 2018
39°57′32.7″N 83°0′19.9″W / 39.959083°N 83.005528°W / 39.959083; -83.005528
LocationGenoa Park, Columbus, Ohio, United States

The Columbus Police Memorial is a memorial in Columbus, Ohio's Genoa Park, United States.[1] It has inscriptions of the names of police officers killed while serving,[2] and serves as a gathering site for memorial services.[3] Its dedication ceremony was held on 26 May 2000.[4]

The original drawings for the design was made by Thomas Raymond Hayes,[5] a civilian police artist who became paralyzed during his service as a police officer in 1979 when he sustained a gunshot wound in the back while arresting two drugged teenagers.[6] His name was also etched into the memorial after his death at the age of 61 on 20 January 2011,[6] which was ruled a homicide by the Franklin County Coroner in March 2011.[5]

Description

The monument is approximately 15 feet (4.6 m) wide and 10 feet (3.0 m) tall, made out of Barre Gray granite with polished black standard inserts.[7] Atop the center of its base stands a tapering pillar crowned by a bronze Columbus Division of Police badge with a black mourning band.[4] A plaque beneath the badge reads as follows:[4]

SERVED FAITHFULLY
SACRIFICED VALIANTLY
REMEMBERED ETERNALLY
DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF OUR
FELLOW COLUMBUS POLICE OFFICERS
THIS 26th DAY OF MAY 2000

Three back-to-back rectangular slabs, bricked up in the base and inscribed with white lettering, list the names of police officers who have died in the line of duty.[8] The name of Columbus SWAT officer Steven M. Smith is currently the last (56th) among them after being engraved on May 11, 2016; he was shot in Clintonville on April 10 of that year and succumbed to his injuries three days later.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Gilchrist, Shannon (11 May 2016). "Two officers from bygone days added to Columbus Police Memorial". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2018-10-29.
  2. ↑ Kocot, Maureen (11 May 2016). "Name of fallen Columbus police officer etched on Memorial Wall". 10tv.com. WBNS-TV. Retrieved 2018-10-29.
  3. ↑ Durant, Maria (18 May 2018). "Fallen officers honored at Columbus Police memorial". abc6onyourside.com. WSYX. Retrieved 2018-10-29.
  4. 1 2 3 "Bulletin Honors: Columbus, Ohio, Division of Police Memorial". FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. 1 December 2012. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
  5. 1 2 "Police Officer Thomas Raymond Hayes". odmp.org. Officer Down Memorial Page. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
  6. 1 2 Bowling, Teresa (ed.). 2011 Annual Report (PDF). columbus.gov (Report). Columbus Division of Police. p. 27. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
  7. ↑ "Civic Memorials Development Guide" (PDF) (Booklet). Tecstone Granite. p. 14. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
  8. ↑ "Police Memorial". columbuspolice.org. Columbus Division of Police. Archived from the original on 2018-07-12.
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