We Remember
Share a memory of your loved one....

A person really never dies while there are those on earth who loved that person . . . One is never gone as long as there are those who remember with fondness . . . and as long as memory evokes a wistful smile. All those who have loved, and who have been loved, have earned a piece of immortality . . .

Ohio C.O.P.S. invites you to share a memory of your loved one. Simply email our webmaster at sue@matschca.com with your message and we'll be glad to add it to our "Share a Memory" page.

Officer Daniel Pope
Cincinnati Police Department
End of Watch: December 5, 1997
Police officers are special people. What most people fail to realize is that they are real people too with families who love them deeply. Once they put on the uniform, they are no longer ours, but belong to the greater of mankind, helping solve the problems of society. Each officer carves their mark in our world by the good they do behind the badge. But they are so much more than that.

My husband Daniel Pope was so much more than a police officer. He was a loving man to all who knew him, to his family, and to all of God's creatures on earth. He had a spirited love of life, with a laugh that came from deep in the belly. It was such an enthusiastic laugh that he many times scared small children! It was hilarious! He also had a love of the animal world, often times bringing home stray and abandoned animals that would surely have had a miserable life on the street. That was one thing I loved most about him was his compassion. He hated anything or anybody in pain, with a need to make everyone better. I guess this is the quality that made him such a wonderful police officer. Many times I had to remind him that he couldn't "fix" everything wrong with the world. Then one day, he was gone. Taken away from all who loved him by a bad man who didn't have the courage to face up to his wrongdoings. In less than a second our world came to an end. But our committment to Dan and all of the other officers who have given up their lives for the love of their country is to never forget them. They will live in our hearts for all eternity.

This forum is such a wonderful place to share in their spirit. It is places such as this that they will live forever. I love you Dan, and I miss you so much every day of my life. I have no doubt we will meet again one day and I look forward to your laughter and your smile.

Your loving wife,
Linda

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I am very touched by your site. My best friend Sara Ridder was murdered on April 15, 2002. She was a 911 operator for Cincinnati and her father, Pete Ridder was president of the F.O.P. for 2 years and served on the force for 12 plus years. Pete is now retired and raising Sara's three children. I miss Sara so much and just wanted to keep her memory alive. My thoughts and prayers are with you all!

Thanks so much,
Jenny

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To My Beloved Charles
January 9th was the day that marked the 19th month that you have been gone. Many people don't think that 19 months is a very long time. It seems like 19 years. While life goes on, and I try to make the best of what time I have left, there is not a day that I don't think about you. The boys and I just realized this week that you left us without telling us the "special family recipe" for making frozen pizza taste so good, or how you made the tires on my car sooo shiny after it has been cleaned! I know that you are with us and in us. Sometimes, I swear, at the end of second shift, I hear your boots walking on the hardwood floor. I hear your keys hit the cabinet, and even sometimes the sound of the velcro on your vest. I thank God for those sounds because just like always, it gives me peace to know that you are home.

I share these private memories for all to see and if while reading this you feel just a little of the loss and pain, please hug someone more now, love them more now, don't take them for granted as much now. Whether you ARE a Cop, or LOVE a Cop....please learn from the sorrow of others.

God Bless the Forest Park PD and Ohio COPS,

Love to All,
Laura and the boys

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Jim "Sal" Salvino was a brother, an uncle, just an all-around good guy. He was a person who always had a smile on his face. He was a big, gentle teddy bear who brought cheer to everyone. But unfortunately, on February 17, 2001, Sal was involved in an automobile accident that took his life hours later. I will always remember him and I wrestling and horsing around. You were always there for me. I will never forget you, Uncle Jimmy.

Will miss you lots,
Brendan

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Robert James Clark II
I am the oldest sister of Rob, or as we called him, "Robbie". We come from a law enforcement family and, in fact, I am married to a retired federal agent. No one knows how tough it is to know your loved one is going out every day into harm's way unless you are that one that watches the door close or hears the stories. I prayed every night that my husband and brother would make it safely to retirement to fulfill other parts of their lives. My husband retired, but my brother died. I will never "get over" this as so many have, or do expect you to. Every day I think of my brother and I cry inside. He was my best male friend besides my husband and now I don't have that buddy any more. I really miss my brother and my best bud.

Some say it is comforting to think he is in Heaven and some say he is at peace now. I can't see any of that. All I see is a man that was so vibrant ending up dead very early in his life and so many impacted form that horrible night.

My family, his friends, his colleagues, and government officials vowed to make changes in his name. That did happen and it showed that people can make a difference. Rob certainly made a difference every time he went to work and that work needed to continue and be cherished. I think of that, and hope he is proud that all continued in his footsteps in some manner. Does it make his death and his not being here any easier and the answer is, "no, not really," but it is something that had to be done for him.

I see his kids growing up and it is hard to think he is not here to share all of this. My son wants to be a federal agent because of Rob and his step-dad. My son cannot pick up the phone to tell his uncle what his dreams are. That hurts all of us.

Spring is here and this is when he would be calling all his sisters to tell us he was planting his garden and all would compare note on what we were doing in our gardens. We would be planning on meeting up in the Summer to share fun and watch all of our children together. Now, Spring comes and the family thinks of how it was and braces itself for the anniversary of his death. Doing the gardens is now bittersweet. Memories of working in his garden after he died flood through his sisters' memories. We worked in it with his kids to make sure it saw fruit and his kids could finish the job their Dad had started with them.

Am I proud of my little brother and the answer is "yes." Would I change things if I had the power and the answer is "yes." I am now left with memories of him and left with knowing that he and I will see one another again some day.

As kids, we all had a saying that we continued as grown-ups. It is, "I love you more than the sun, the moon and the stars." I still love him and still tell him every night "I love you more than the sun, the moon and the stars." And now I add "Robbie, I sure hope you save me an interesting cloud with you so we can laugh, play jokes on people and cause trouble in Heaven."

~ Mary Clark Forbes

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Dennis Bennington
This is about losing my father, Dennis Bennington, killed in 1979. I was 9 years old then. I honestly don't recall much about my father except his gentle smile, his love of fishing and playing ball. He loved his family and his job and he was superb at both. I am now 33 years old. I've lived almost all of my life without a father. It's been a very difficult road. I miss him every day, but I know he is a hero. He gave his life so we could have safety in our lives. I know it is a difficult task to live on without our loved ones. My mother couldn't - she committed suicide four years after my father's death. But life does move on. We must live it to our fullest. That is what they gave their lives, so others could live rich, meaningful lives. God bless all who have lost their loved ones in the line of duty.

~ Tina Sansone (Bennington)

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From an Ohio Police Officer
June 29, 2003

I thought I would take a few moments and share some of my thoughts from today. Please bear with me as those who know me will tell you, I tend to get a bit long-winded!

Today, five officers from our department, along with three wives, met in the parking lot of our P.D. at 1200 hours. Our plan for the day - to ride our motorcycles to a pre-planned destination. You see, we happened to be five guys who had certain things in common, we were cops and we liked riding our bikes. Between us, we also had our differences - FTO's, Canine Handlers, Sergeants, SWAT, Patrol, Administration. There were married officers, divorced officers, one officer who plans to marry, parents of teenagers, parents of young children, and parents of none.

As we made our way southwest towards Rohr Road on some beautiful back roads, taking in the sun that was making it's presence known, I drifted away in my own thoughts, as I'm sure the other seven did. I had taken the lead position as I had visited www.mapquest.com last night and had written down the destination. How would we be accepted by the survivors? I knew they would spot us as cops still "on the job," because you can spot a cop a mile away (ask any family member of a cop, they'll tell ya!) How would I react to such a concentration of family members who had lost so much? What would I say? How would I act?

Well, I got so carried away with these thoughts that I rode right by the entrance. We turned around and fell into line at the back of the pack. We made our way into the park and found a place to park the bikes. At that point, I saw a lady heading our way that I just knew had to be Linda Pope. As she heartily greeted us all, and thanked us for coming, a lot of my concerns faded. We made our way into the shelter house and signed the Ohio COPS banner. As I looked around, I saw what I know was the driving force behind those officers taken from us. I wondered about the stories behind the face of each child there, each man, each woman. I watched older kids playing with younger ones, and a bright-eyed newborn that seemed to have more mothers than could genetically be possible. The entire event seemed to be very much like a typical family reunion.

It seems to me that some families are made in an untraditional sense - one that we will never understand - one that maybe we should not try to understand.

As we got ready to leave, we were again sought out by both Linda and Kelly, thanking us for coming and telling us to "be careful" - my own mother couldn't have said it with more emphasis!

I have the National COPS Poster of Sgt. Esterhaus (I'm really dating myself by knowing that name, huh?) on the door to my office. I know that every day as I walk by it, I will remember the day that we were allowed to spend in your company.

Take care,
Barry Connell

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Anonymous
August 10, 2003

I am from Wellston, Ohio, where Officer Kelli Lambert served. I moved to a neighboring town, Jackson, when I was a senior, and where I met Kelli. We worked at Long John Silver's together, as an after-school job. It's wierd now, looking back, I would have never imagined that she would die so young.

After getting married, I remained in Jackson with my husband, who had graduated with Kelli. We would see her occasionally at WalMart and say hi or talk some small talk, you know how it goes, the whole, "Hi, how are you" conversation. Then about a year ago, Kelli became a police officer in my hometown and I respected her more than I could ever respect anyone. She saved my brother's life twice. And for only being an officer for almost a year, saving someone two times is more than a lot of new officers do, but she didn't just save my brother. She saved many lives. A lot of my friends knew her as the only girl on the force and who pulled everyone over for picky little things such as speeding, drunk driving, or seat belt. Picky? I couldn't help but laugh. I thought, she probably just saved your life.

Kelli was the only officer my brother would confide in or trust. She had a trustworthy quality that could make you divulge information as if you were a teen girl at a slumber party. Thanks to my brother, a few hours before Kelli's death, she made one of the biggest drug busts in Wellston.

Now that Kelli is gone, there is no one to protect him and I'm very worried. My family has been receiving threats, as well as I. Kelli told me she would always look out for my brother because he looked so much like her little brother that it was easy. I have her to thank for my brother still being here. I hope I can one day pay her back for all that she has done for me. Thank you Kelli.

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Brandy Winfield
Marion County Sheriff’s Office
EOW 10-14-04

I met Bran on a blind date. He took me to a bar (I wasn’t old enough to drink yet) with several of his friends. He talked to his friends all night and I sat most of the time silent. On our second date he showed up at my friend’s house with shorts pulled up to his nose and a belt on. He ate with his mouth open at dinner and fell asleep during the movie. I vowed to never go on another date with him. Three weeks later I moved into his apartment….I guess what I am trying to say is that Bran wasn’t always big on first impressions but as you got to know him he became infectious. Once you got to know Bran you couldn’t help but love him. Bran had more friends than anyone I know. He honestly never met a stranger. He made time to talk to anyone and would often strike up a conversation with a complete stranger. Sometimes at the grocery store Bran would stop to talk to someone…I would keep walking. When he would catch up with me I would say, “Who was that?” He would say, “Oh some guy I arrest every weekend.” Even people he would arrest still liked him.

Brandy approached life with a wonderful view…He was always positive. He had naiveté like a child. He was always curious about things and never afraid to ask a question to learn more about life. We once bought a fish tank and set it up with salt water fish. Bran loved it. We watched the movie Splash one night. He looked at me and asked, “Hey Sara is there any such thing as a mermaid?” I started cracking up laughing…because he was being totally serious. I told a good friend of ours this story a few days later. Every time Monte came to our house after that he would ask Bran, “Hey when you gonna get a mermaid for that fish tank?” Bran would smile and laugh. He never took offense to someone making fun of him for anything. He loved every minute of it. He would smile his big infectious smile and laugh so hard he would slap his knee.

Brandy was very focused on his goals and dreams. He knew he wanted to be a cop from a young age. He pursued this dream relentlessly. He became an explorer with the Sheriff’s office. He started dispatching before he graduated from high school. Once Brandy decided a path for his life you could not deter him. He approached his whole life in this manner. We were married young, bought a house young, and had children young. This was because Bran knew what he wanted and went after it. He worked long hours at a second job to make sure our family had everything we dreamed. He was always a dreamer…coming up with grand schemes of what he was going to do next. Our last fight before he died was because he was convinced he was going to start his own dump truck business…I told him we couldn’t afford to buy a dump truck and tried to explain the reality of this to him. He looked at me and said, “I’ll just do it anyways.” He probably would of to if given a few more years…..

More than anything in his life Brandy loved being a father. He cherished our two children, Landon and Tyler. I always told people I was raising three boys because Bran was like a big kid when it came to Landon and Tyler. He would come home with a new toy for them and spend an hour on the floor playing with it longer than the boys did. A couple of weeks before Brandy died he was working a special guard duty at the traveling Vietnam Memorial. He called me at home and said, “Sara hurry up and get the boys out here, a big helicopter is going to land here in about an hour.” I think Bran was more excited about it than Landon and Tyler. Landon and Tyler would run to the window every morning as Bran pulled in the drive way. They would yell for him to turn on the lights. He would turn on his cruiser lights and shine his spotlight at the boys. They would run to the back door and wait for Bran to come in. They would follow him back to the bedroom. As he stripped off his uniform the boys would each put on his uniform clothes and run around the house. I was never quite sure who was having more fun Landon and Tyler or Brandy watching them. Daddy was definitely their biggest hero.

Brandy was everything to me, Landon, and Tyler. We miss him more than anyone can ever imagine. I only hope that I can raise our boys to be like him. We love him and life without him will never be the same……

Sara Winfield

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Ronald Jeter
I have many fond memories on Ron on many levels. At one point and time we dated and then decided to just be friends. I was a confidant whom he could trust with anything and he was the same for me. We were so close, he gave me his shirt from the academy and told me it was because he cared that deeply for me. We parted ways because I was so afraid of his line of work. I was afraid of him not coming home from work. I was afraid of hearing the news that my mother eventually brought to me: Ron was killed in the line of duty. It had been quite a while since I had spoken to Ron before I heard the news and I still wept. He was an officer who LOVED his job. It meant the world to him. It never dawned on me to say thank you to him for being one of the many brave souls who protect us on a daily basis. So I will say it now. Thank you Ron. Thank you to all of the officers who have given their lives to protect our community. Thank you to all of the officer who don't hear a kind word when you're out there on duty protecting us. Thank you all for giving of yourselves even when we don't take the time to realize what you're doing for us. Thank you.

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On July 20, 2004 my world changed forever. My husband, Officer Duke G. Aaron III with the Maryland Transportation Authority Police was killed in the line of duty while sitting in his unmarked cruiser on the shoulder of the highway finishing up paperwork from a traffic stop. A Dodge pick-up truck traveled the shoulder and slammed into my husband's cruiser from behind at 73 mph and never even applied his brakes. Fortunately, I was able to be with my husband when he passed away. Unfortunately, a 10 year and 10 day fairytale novel turned into a horror story. Almost three months after my husband was killed, I received notice by email that a deputy in Marion County, OH had been killed in the line of duty. That deputy's name was Brandy Winfield. I had read his biographical information and noticed that he was the exact same age as my husband and that he had a wife and two children. Although Duke and I didn't have children of our own, I suspected that Deputy Winfield's wife was about my age (I was 27 at the time my husband was killed and my husband was 29). At the present time, I am the youngest surviving spouse of a police officer killed in Maryland. Although my chapter of COPS has been present and accepting of me and my family, I needed to connect with someone who was more my age and was going through what I was at that moment. I decided to contact the Ohio COPS chapter. I emailed Linda and told her my situation and that I was trying to get in touch with Sara. Linda warmly welcomed me and my request. I would just like to say THANK YOU SO MUCH to the entire Ohio COPS Chapter, especially Linda and Sara. I am so grateful and forever thankful to have been in contact with Sara Winfield under the most unfortunate of circumstances for the past several months. She is a strong and inspiring woman and I believe the same for the other survivors as well. I hope to one day meet everyone.
Love,
Jennifer Aaron

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Upon losing an Officer in the line of duty, we are all impacted in different ways. I along with my fellow Officers of the Marion Police Department mourn the loss of family in the most literal sense. Deputy Brandy Winfield worked for the Marion County Sheriff's Office for six years. I began my career as a Deputy at the MCSO in 1996, and Brandy was a dispatcher at that time. I knew Brandy from high school, and we were in the local Sheriff's Office Explorer Post together as teenagers. Brandy was an energetic person. I was going through a divorce during my tenure at the Sheriff's Office, and as a young man I had little to be excited or happy about. You simply could not be around Brandy without smiling. Brandy and I forged a close relationship during my time there, and I am a better man for having known him. We spent many a weekend out galavanting and soon, my problems did not seem so insurmountable. Brandy provided me with comic relief, and walked with me down paths that led me to the life that I now enjoy. Much of the experiences that Brandy and I experienced would be less than appropriate for me to detail here. However, when his two young sons have grown up, I look forward to telling them where their onriness came from.

Even as a dispatcher, Brandy was one of the most "squared away" people that you would ever want to meet. He polished his boots and brass every day, and I would dare you to find a piece of brass out of place on his uniform shirt, or a scrape on his boots. Everything in his life was meticulous, clean and in it's proper place. I was the single guy that lived like a true bachelor. I had begun the habit of attending the funerals of Fallen Officers in central Ohio, and I remember the first time that Brandy expressed an interest to go with me. It was the funeral of Officer Claypool from Columbus. I remember going to Brandy's apartment to pick him up, and being completely surprised that a single guy could keep such a neat house. Regrettably, this is one of his traits that did not rub off on me. As I sit here typing now, I am overcome with emotion in the fact that we attended that Police funeral together, unaware of the fact that a few short years later I would carry his casket, draped with the United States Flag, at a ceremony in his honor. With every funeral that I attended, I became increasingly aware of my own mortality. I would look at the family of the fallen Officer and feel overcome with the possibility of putting my own loved ones through such a horrific ordeal. Many Officers go through their shifts with the thought that it will always be someone else. If you make it a point to attend the ceremonies of fallen Officers, you will always be painfully congnizent that it can be any one of us.

In 1998, I left the Marion County Sheriff's Office for the Marion Police Department, where I now serve as a Patrol Lieutenant. My wife of five years, Monica, is a Marion County Sheriff's Dispatcher and we have two beautifull children. Monica worked with Brandy on third shift for several years, and they developed a fantastic relationship. As I have told you, it was difficult to find fault in Brandy. If you disliked him, you probably had no use for babies, puppies, or rainbows. He was just a special type of person that was genuine in every regard, with nothing fake about him. Monica would conjure up old Explorer pictures that would mysteriously appear in his mailbox, or hung up on the dispatch door, or anywhere else that would cause him some embarassment. Brandy's demeanor made him a great target for pranks, and none of us shyed away from an opportunity to pull one off. Monica would get with Brandy's wife Sara, and get ahold of a picture of him lying on the couch in nothing but his underwear. With her artistic and creative abilities, she made up a fake "GQ" magazine cover with the picture and loads of added captions. This was also posted for view by all of the other deputies. The last time I went to visit Sara and the boys at their home, that picture was still hanging on the side of the refrigerator along with the boys' artistic creations. "Grasshopper, Klink, Pantyboy, Dora, Bacon" are some of the nicknames that would become attached to Brandy for various reasons.

With Brandy's untimely passing on October 14th, we have all struggled to deal with his loss. I got off work Wednesday night and came home to go to sleep. I will never forget the phone ringing at seven a.m. It was one of those tell tale rings, at an awkward hour, that immediately tells you something is wrong. Trying to keep my feet by sitting down, I hung up the phone and looked to my wife. My instantaneous pain was only surmounted by the realization that I now had to tell my wife...his dispatcher, that Brandy had been shot and killed. I will never forget that day.

Two of my MPD Officers were the first to arrive on scene, and found Brandy in his patrol car. We are a relatively small department of 69 sworn Officers, and the members of the Police Dept., Sheriff's Office, and State Patrol are all quite close. Especially close are the night shift Officers, who always find a way to meet in the park late at night to trade war stories or office gossip. Making this matter even closer to home, Brandy's father Rick is our most senior Patrol Officer. I had the pleasure of working with Rick for a year in the Detective Bureau, and he is the best cop that I have ever met. Brandy got it honest without question. Brandy's younger brother, Cory, is one of our most junior Patrol Officers. Like his father and older brother, Cory is top notch in every way, and has a fantastic sense of humor. With all of my heart, I love the Winfield family and all that they stand for. Brandy's mother Shirley is a strong loving woman, who has graciously given her three most precious commodities to this line of work. No mother should ever endure the pain that she has known, but somehow when you look at her, you know that God has not given her more than what she can handle. She is the rock of that family, and she will see them all through. Cory has been married only a short time to Lindsey, but she has been a real trooper through this entire trauma, and they are fortunate to have her in the family.

As the first day rolled on and we realized that there was a very important ceremony to be planned, my wife stepped up to the plate. With the assistance of Sheriffs Ron Shawber and Mike Hetzel of the BSSA, they planned the most fantastic tribute to which I have ever beared witness. I will say only now that I truly felt that Monica had gotten in over her head, because I know that such ceremonies require alot of planning and coordination with a timetable of only a few days. There is no room for error, and the entire ceremony from the lengthy calling hours to the playing of taps were a true tribute to a true hero, and my friend. I am so proud of Monica, as I know that Brandy is too.

The calling hours were planned from two to eight in the evening, and had to be held at the Veteran's Memorial Coliseum due to the anticipated number of those that would pay their respects. The line stretched throughout the building, and outside and lasted until nearly midnight. I spoke with one of the funeral directors who told me that the City of Marion had not seen a showing of this magnitude since that of President Warren G. Harding, a Marion resident. The community showed magnificent support and stood in line for up to five hours to pay their respects. Officers from all over the state and some adjoining states showed their respect with their presence.

I so dreaded going to the Brandy's house on the day of his death, as I did not know how to feel or how to be with the family. I only knew that I should be there. I met with Sara, and played with the boys for a while and made a habit of doing a slick spin move to wipe my eyes, so as not to give his sons the impression that there was something to be sad about. Sara is so strong, and although we had done things together as couples in the past, I never really had the opportunity to get to know her. Although I wish it were under different circumstances, I am gratefull to have gotten to know her. She was a good wife, and is a great mother to her two young sons. My wife has spent a considerable amount of time with the family since Brandy's passing, staying the night at least once a week to provide her with company and a shoulder to cry on when needed. We have tried to plan events around the family to keep them active and busy, so as not to allow too much time to sit around and ponder the negatives. Those two boys belong to all of us now, and we have a deep and lengthy commitment to them.

In the early afternoon following Brandy's death, I had the honor of meeting two fantastic women, Linda Pope and Angie McDowell of Ohio COPS. Still searching to find the answers for the family, these two women stepped up to the plate with, what is their regrettable experience. The compassion that they showed and the pain that they know represented that missing link that none of us could give to Sara. I am so entirely gratefull for the assistance that you have provided to my friend and his family. It is comforting to know that you would be there for my family, if ever any such assistance would be needed. Linda and I have spoken on the phone several times since Brandy's passing and she has provided my wife and I with needed reassurance and the knowledge that life does go on. I tip my hat to you ladies and gentlemen that make the Ohio COPS what it is today, and I look forward to supporting you in every way in the future.

When a Police Officer goes through a tragedy of this magnitude, losing a co-worker in the line of duty, one of two things happens. You come to the decision that this job is not the right one for you, or you are overcome with an even more powerfull resolve to suit up and do God's work. Tomorrow, like most every other day of the week, I will suit up and be proud of who I am, a Police Officer.

Thank you,
B.J. Gruber

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Officer Charles McDonald End of watch:06/09/2001

My son Charles was so much more than a police officer. He was your friend no matter who you were. He was not someone who met strangers and had a smile on his face that would tell you so whenever you met him. I see that smile on the face of his son every day and also see what good values that he instilled in his son even through they only had twelve short years together. Charles was a big pet lover. He was the kind of man that would bring home baby ducks for easter or a small kitten just to say I love you. The kind of man that would take a puppy to the vet if he was not feeding from his mother or feed the puppy himself and if for some reason the puppy died he would cry as if he had lost his best friend. He loved his family and wanted his family around him at all time always planning a trip. Whether it was a trip just for his mate and him, sports trips for the boys or a trip that included mom and dad, which was something he did on a regular basis. Being a police officer was something he loved very much because he loved helping people and was very concerned about the children and the problem with drugs. My heart goes out to all the families of fallen officers. Their memories will always be our keepsake with which we hold dear to our hearts. March 18th was another birthday passed for my beloved son and June 9th will be the fourth year since God called him home and we miss him every day.

This is some of my private memories that I wanted to share with you all and I'm very thankful that I am able to through this site.

Love Pat (Mom), Dad and little Charles

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Yesterday I attended the funeral services for Fairfield County Deputy Sheriff Ethan Collins. He was killed January 4, 2006 when he lost control of his cruiser responding to a call to assist another officer.

The accident happened about a 15 second drive from my house, but I could not see the accident site because of the trees and the curve of the road. I came home from work and watched for hours as the news helicopters circled above. I found out on our local newspaper website what had happened as they had posted a Breaking News story that a deputy was killed in a car accident. My husband is a police officer and when we learned that a deputy was killed, we stood in disbelief on our deck watching the commotion around our neighborhood. I did not know at the time that Deputy Collins had a wife and 2 children, but when I found out, I was devastated just knowing that the coming days, months, & years would be forever changed for them.

5 days after the accident, January 9, 2006, the funeral was held. I attended. I will never forget Deputy Collins' wife, daughter, and family. The show of support from hundreds, if not thousands, of other law enforcement personnel and citizens was beyond belief. I cried throughout the day. I have cried today at the memories of his daughter crying for her daddy during the funeral service, at "Jake", Deputy Collin's Mounted Patrol Horse losing control and walking in circles at the gravesite, at the sobbing of Kylie as she was escorted by our Sheriff, and at many other moments that will always be etched in my heart and soul.

My heart goes out to the Collin's family, and to every family of a fallen officer. There is little I can do, but for anyone that has lost a loved one in the line of duty, please know that the effect of their passing creates a void in the heart of those that you may not even know. I may pass a member of the Collin's family in public and they would not even know the pain I am suffering for them. But I am, every waking minute.

If Kylie or anyone that knows Deputy Collins reads this... no, I didn't know the Collin's family, but they have forever changed my life.

Thank you to my husband, my brother-in-law, my father-in-law, & all that serve and protect!

Cherie Sandbrink
Lancaster, Ohio

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Columbus Police Officer Melissa Foster Remembered

Killer is re-sentenced to the thirteen year max

On Saturday December 4, 2004 at 1:00 a.m. Jacob Harper while driving impaired veered left of center on Gender Road in Columbus, Ohio and struck Officer Melissa Foster head-on. Officer Foster was responding to a prowler call when she was struck. She was flown by medical helicopter to Grant Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries. On Wednesday June 14, 2006 Mr. Harper appeared before Judge John Bender to be re-sentenced in the killing of Columbus Officer Melissa Foster, Judge Bender re-sentenced Mr. Harper to his original thirteen year sentence.

Mr. Harper was being re-sentenced because of a successful appeal of the original sentence. On Monday February 27, 2006 the Supreme Court of Ohio issued a decision in a case titled State v. Foster that affected the sentencing in Jacob Harper's case. Although the case is titled State v. Foster it was only a coincidence as that case did not involve Officer Foster, but rather a burglar named Andrew Foster. The successful appeal in Foster brought Mr. Harper back in front of Judge Bender. Judge Bender called the killing of Officer Foster the "worst type" of the offense of Aggravated Vehicular Homicide. Following the collision Mr. Harper refused a chemical test, but did stipulate in the original case that alcohol was a factor.

Officer Foster was a seven year veteran of the Columbus Police Department and spent her entire career on third shift patrol. At the time of the collision Officer Foster was responding with her Sergeant, Tim Peters. Sgt. Peters and Officer Foster were traveling in separate cruisers. Officer Foster is survived by her daughter Elaine and son Keith.

Tragically this is not the first time Mr. Jacob Harper has killed. In 1997 he shot and killed his step father during an argument. There was a dispute in court on June 14, 2006 as to whether or not alcohol was a "factor" in the step-fathers death. Based on Ohio law Mr. Harper was sentenced to the maximum time - thirteen years in Officer Foster's death. For that Judge Bender must be congratulated as Jacob Harper has now killed twice and at the time of Office Foster's death he was only thirty-two years old.

May the Lord bless and protect Officer Foster's family.

Officer Jim Gilbert
Lt. Bob Meader
Columbus Police Department