Law enforcement officers across Macon County gathered in a rainy downtown Franklin to remember fallen officers at noon on Friday, May 17.
Al Caiata, past president of the Fraternal Order of Police, conducted the event. Members of Coweeta Baptist Church sang the national anthem, followed by Macon County Sheriff Brent Holbrooks.
“Today we stand together to honor their courage, their dedication, and their unwavering commitment to protecting us and serving our communities,” Holbrooks said of the fallen officers.
N.C. Sen. Kevin Corbin noted on May 7, the N.C. Department of Justice held the 39th Annual Peace Officer Memorial Ceremony. Corbin reflected on the April 30 Charlotte shooting that killed four law enforcement officers and wounded four others who were serving an arrest warrant.
“This horrific event reminds us of the constant dangers that our officers face and the high price they pay to keep you and I safe,” Corbin said. “As we gather here today, let us remember those who have fallen.”
“Their service to their communities stands as a testament to their character and commitment to a greater cause than themselves. We owe them a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid but will honor their memory by continuing to uphold the principles on which they stood. May their courage inspire us, their service guide us, and their memory unite us in our pursuit of a safer and more just society.”
Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 81 2nd Vice President Steve Mason, also a Highlands Police Department officer and 50-year law enforcement veteran, read the list of three officers who died in the line of duty in 2023: Sgt. Philip Dale Nix of the Greensboro Police Department (gunfire), Sgt. Russell Earl Lavarl Jones of the Pamlico County Sheriff’s Office (heart attack), and Deputy Sheriff Auston Smith Reudelhuber of the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office (vehicle accident). Upon the reading of each end of watch, a bell was rang.
Mason also recognized Larry Miller, a charter member of the local FOP who served as a Macon County jailer for 15 years who died in March, and officers who died serving in WNC over the last 25 years, including Macon County Deputy Sheriff Robert “Bob” Killian in 2008.
After the members of Coweeta Baptist Church sang “Amazing Grace,” N.C. State Highway Patrol Trooper H.W. Gass and Highlands Police Capt. Leah McCall laid a wreath at the Macon County Courthouse and a member of the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 994 played “Taps” to close.