Sheriff Will Travis will read the names and stories of officers killed in the line of duty in Denton County at the 17th annual Denton County Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial Service tonight at 6 p.m. in Denton.
The service will commemorate National Peace Officers’ Memorial Day, the focus of National Police Week which runs from May 12 -18, 2013 and will take place at the Denton County Courthouse, 1450 E. McKinney Street.
In the event of inclement weather, the service will move to the Central Jury Room of the Denton County Courthouse, located on the 2nd floor.
Each fallen officer will be represented by an officer from their line of service. The officers standing for the fallen will place a rose in the memorial wreath in honor of the officers they are symbolizing. The officers participating in the presentation include one Denton County Sheriff’s Office Detention Officer, three Denton County Sheriff’s Office Deputies, one Texas State Trooper, and one Texas Ranger. The City of Denton Police Department and Denton County Sheriff’s Office Honor Guards will also participate.
The following officers will be honored:
Detention Officer Floyd Coberly, Denton County Sheriff’s Office, killed by a prisoner during a jail escape Feb. 24, 1897.
Special Deputy Robert Bruce Parsons, Denton County Sheriff’s Office, shot and killed during the investigation of a criminal gang Aug. 6, 1925.
Deputy Carl (Red) Garrett, Denton County Sheriff’s Office was shot and killed during a raid on a café where he and his partner were searching for illegal liquor on July 3, 1934.
Texas Ranger Bob Doherty was shot and killed during a drug raid Feb. 20, 1978.
Special Deputy Robert Bruce Parsons had worked in law enforcement for almost forty years when he was shot on East Hickory Street in Denton by the leader of a gang of bank robbers.
Trooper Hollis Stephen Lacy of the Texas Highway Patrol division of the Department of Public Safety was killed in an automobile accident during a high-speed chase on December 26, 1980.
Sergeant William Keith Thurston of the Denton County Sheriff’s Department was responding to a distress call when his patrol car was struck, and he was killed on December 6, 1986.
In 1962, President Kennedy proclaimed May 15th as National Peace Officers’ Memorial Day and the calendar week in which May 15 falls, as National Police Week.
Established by a joint resolution of Congress in 1962, National Police Week pays special recognition to those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others.
The first official memorial service took place on May 15, 1982 in Washington, D.C. In 1994 President Bill Clinton signed Public Law 103-322 directing that the flag of the United States on all Government buildings be displayed at half-staff on National Peace Officers’ Memorial Day.
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