PEORIA, Ill. – The Peoria Police Department has honored those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.
On Wednesday, the department hosted its annual memorial service. It’s dedicated to the 15 officers who have died in the line of duty.
With construction at the Civic Center occurring nearby the police memorial, this year’s ceremony took place inside the chambers of City Hall.
The ceremony featured a speech from Chief Eric Echevarria, followed by the reading of the 15 names with a rose laid for each one, and then a placing of a wreath.
Echevarria says he didn’t personally know any of the fallen officers, but came to learn some of their stories over the years.
“The selflessness that they showed, the courage that all of them showed,” Echevarria said. “This is a hard, hard job, and there’s a time limit on all of us doing the job itself. And these people died too soon in those careers.”
For Echevarria, he called Wednesday’s ceremony a full circle moment. One of his first public events as Chief was being sworn-in at City Hall, with Wednesday’s ceremony being conducted behind that same podium. Echevarria will retire on Friday.
The 15 officers memorialized during the ceremony are:
- Patrol Officer Theophil Joseph “Joe” Seyller; EOW 11/3/1894
- Detective William F. Murphy; EOW 6/23/1903
- Patrolman Edward P. Barrett; EOW 10/12/1907
- Sergeant James Skinner; EOW 7/13/1912
- Patrolman Joseph H. Enos; EOW 1/12/1916
- Officer Norman Gray; EOW 1/24/1916
- Patrolman Samuel Moffatt; EOW 11/28/1917
- Patrolman Frank Pierce Carr; EOW 10/5/1918
- Patrolman James H. Walker; EOW 7/7/1927
- Patrolman Arthur Aiello; EOW 8/29/1929
- Detective Sergeant Robert E. Moran; EOW 11/15/1933
- Patrolman John D. Cusson; EOW 8/26/1947
- Patrolman Norval Wright, Jr.; EOW 9/17/1953
- Officer Donan James “Jim” Faulkner, Jr., EOW 9/20/2001
- Officer Cristy S. Tindall; EOW 12/30/2004
Comments