Dedicated. Family man. A character. Someone who could make you laugh. These are just a few ways Deputy Sgt. Michael Todd May is remembered by officers, staff and friends at the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department.
Today marks 10 years since May was killed by a repeat drunk driver who drove his vehicle directly into May’s police cruiser during a pursuit on Interstate 79, near Mount Morris, Pa.
“We all can remember that night vividly,” said Monongalia County Sheriff Palmer. “We were all here at 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning after it happened.”
“I was sitting right there,” said Chief Deputy Mark Ralston, pointing to a space in the sheriff’s office. “There were six or eight of us that came in.”
“It’s even hard to talk about now, 10 years later,” Palmer said, trying to maintain composure. “I believe he was the first sheriff’s deputy we’ve ever lost in our recent time.”
Palmer said he was May’s field training officer when he first joined the department.
“He had his own way of doing things, but as far as working the shift, he was our guy that the young guys looked up to,” he said. “I never heard anything bad about Todd, he was one of our good employees.”
Even after 10 years, May’s presence is felt throughout the sheriff’s department. Photos and memorabilia can be seen everywhere from the department’s lobby to the hallways.
“It’s good to take a minute to remember,” said Ralston. “Because that is really the only one from our department and county-wide where someone actually took action and killed an officer in this county.”
Today, deputies walk past a plaque hung outside the door of the training room. Inside the training room, a framed poster made after May’s passing is displayed with his unit number and signatures of the officers he worked with. These are just a two examples of May’s lasting legacy within the department and the community.
“We still haven’t filled his unit number. It still stays the same – 124,” Palmer said, as he looked at photos of May hanging by his desk. “We still have his mailbox and his timecard, none of that changed.
“A lot of the newer guys coming in, we fill them in on what’s going on. If they weren’t around, they don’t remember Todd, but we miss him everyday. We try to keep as much of his legacy alive as possible. It’s just a reminder of what our job entails and what can happen at any given time.”
Tammy White, Detective Division assistant at the Mon County Sheriff’s Department, was close with May and continues to assist with a scholarship fund for criminal justice at Fairmont State University in his name.
“After it first happened, the outpouring was so overwhelming that even now 10 years later, it still is. We still get people asking for bracelets, for decals for the back of their car, so it’s nice,” White said. “There is a golf tournament every year. We raise anywhere from $6,000 to $9,000 a year for Todd’s scholarship established at Fairmont State.”
White said before he was killed, May was the president of the Deputy Sheriff’s Association. “He was always participating in the Shop with a Deputy program, making sure that deputies showed up to help,” she said. “The Thanksgiving baskets that they do every year, he was a huge part in all of that.”
The department will continue to honor May with a new shadowbox displayed in the department’s lobby. “Ten years ago, a wreath was delivered and has been displayed in the sheriff’s department,” White said. “It just started to show its age, so one of our secretaries took it and all the stuff in [the box] is from the original wreath, like the flowers and stuff.”
Palmer said when May died, the outpouring of support from the community was unbelievable. “I mean it was just – it was huge,” he said.
“It still is really,” White added.
While it was amazing to see all the support from the community and other law enforcement agencies who came to support them for May’s funeral, Palmer would prefer to never repeat it.
“I can honestly say, and I’m sure these guys feel the same,” he said looking toward Ralston and Chief Deputy Vance Lipscomb, “That is something I never want to go through again and hopefully we never have to go through that.”
Lipscomb said May really had a way with people and was very well liked.
“Todd was more than just an officer, he also cared about the community and the people that he dealt with,” he said. “He may arrest you today, but the next day he might buy you a sandwich.
“You could see at his funeral, the previous weeks before he got killed some people he arrested showed up to pay their respects to him. So for me, that speaks volumes about what Todd was about.”
“He was a character too,” Ralston said.
“He made you laugh,” continued White.
“This job – a lot of times it’s not fun,” said Palmer. “But he would make it fun.”
Lipscomb added, “He was a big character, a big personality.”
According to Palmer, May was the ideal law enforcement officer, someone he would want to hire, someone whose personality and influence transpired into the community and throughout the department.
“We do miss him. A lot of the younger guys looked up to him,” he said. “He would have been a good supervisor at this time.”
Palmer said May’s legacy will live on in the department and continue to serve as a reminder for the deputies that it could happen anytime and something you have to be aware of with their job.
“It doesn’t seem like 10 years does it?” Palmer asked his colleagues.
“It still hurts just as bad,” White replied, holding back tears.
Palmer replied softly, “Yeah, it does.”
