It had been two years since the Fallen Officer Memorial ceremony was able to be held in person at the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) division campus in Clarksburg instead of virtually.
Law enforcement officers from all over West Virginia, along with FBI agents and staff, families and friends of fallen officers, and other spectators and government officials, gathered outside the CJIS building Thursday afternoon to honor West Virginia officers and agents killed in the line of duty,
Even the weather seemed to recognize the significance of the day as an overcast sky leading up to the event’s 1 p.m. start time, opened up to sunshine and blue skies moments before the ceremony began.
“Today we honored 130 West Virginia Law Enforcement officers and 88 fallen FBI special agents,” said Michael Christman, assistant director of the CJIS division. “It’s important to bring people together in person to really extend the message beyond what we have been doing virtually,” he said.
The ceremony included musical performances by a student from Bridgeport High School who sang ‘God Bless America,’ a WVU trumpet player who played taps, and a bagpipe performance of ‘Amazing Grace.”
Charleston Police Patrolman Cassie Johnson, who was shot and killed on the street in the city in December 2020, was specially honored during the ceremony and her family was presented with an American flag.
Johnson was the first ever female officer sworn into the Charleston Police Department.
Morgantown Police Chief Eric Powell and Sgt. J.E. Burks of the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department were among a handful of officers chosen to read the names of all officers on the honor roll of West Virginia law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.
The list of names included two from Monongalia County, MPD Officer Franklin Michael Fidazzo, who was killed in a training accident, and Sgt. Michael Todd May, who was killed by a drunk driver.
“I wouldn’t miss the opportunity for the world. It means everything,” said Chief Powell. “All these officers that we are honoring today paid the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their profession and their communities and it’s the least I could do.”
Sgt. Burks said the day was particularly difficult for him as Sgt. May, a fellow deputy, was one of the names he was tasked to read.
“It’s important for my department. A lot of guys couldn’t be here today, but I know they wanted to, to honor Todd and his family,” Burks said. “He was a big part of our department, so to be able to come down here and read his name – it’s important.”
Christman said there are 22,000 names of fallen officers, dating back to 1786, currently on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC.
“An additional 619 are being affixed this year,” he said. “Of that number, 472 names are from 2021 alone – the most ever to be added to the memorial wall in one year.”
According to Christman, more than 300 of those deaths were COVID-19 related.
“And I would also say while COVID-19 changed the way a lot of people do business, law enforcement still had to answer the call everyday – 24-7,” he said.
Christman said he hoped the ceremony highlighted the sacrifice and dedication that the law enforcement profession requires. “We take for granted the positive impact that law enforcement creates across our nation’s communities,” he said.
