17 Officers Who Perished in the Line of Duty to be Honored
PHOENIX – Attorney General Mark Brnovich will gather with members of local and statewide law enforcement, along with the family members of fallen officers on Wednesday, September 29, to honor Arizona police officers who lost their lives while in the line of duty during 2019 and 2020. AG Brnovich serves as the Chairman of the Arizona Peace Officers Memorial Board, which oversees the maintenance of the Memorial and organizes the annual service.
This is the 47th Annual Peace Officers Memorial service. A ceremony was not held in 2020 due to the pandemic. 17 officers will be honored at this years’ service:
- Officer Clayton Joel Townsend – Salt River PD (EOW: 01/08/2019)
- Officer Paul T. Rutherford – Phoenix PD (EOW: 03/21/2019)
- Border Patrol Agent Robert M. Hotten – U.S. Border Patrol (EOW: 10/06/2019)
- Detention Officer Gene “Jim” W. Lee – Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (EOW 10/30/2019)
- Border Patrol Agent Luis O. Peña Jr. – U.S. Border Patrol (EOW: 12/23/2019)
- Officer David W. Kellywood – White Mountain Apache Tribal PD (EOW: 02/17/2020)
- Commander Greg S. Carnicle – Phoenix PD (EOW: 03/29/2020)
- Detention Officer Alvin Ramirez - Avondale PD (EOW: 06/07/2020)
- Officer Michael E. Lee – Navajo Division of Public Safety (EOW: 06/18/2020)
- Investigator Esther Charley - Navajo Division of Public Safety (EOW: 06/22/2020)
- Officer Jason W. Judd – Peoria PD (EOW: 07/01/2020)
- Sergeant Ernie Quintero – Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (EOW: 07/06/2020)
- Detention Officer Kevin Fletcher – Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (EOW: 07/06/2020)
- Officer Alfonso H. Murrieta – U.S. Border Patrol (EOW: 07/09/2020)
- Detention Officer Miroslaw Mroczkowski - Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (EOW: 07/15/2020)
- Officer Bryan R. Brown – Tohono O’odham Tribal PD (EOW: 08/27/2020)
- Officer Peter Anthony Mannino – Tucson PD (EOW: 05/17/2009)
Additionally, the names of five law enforcement officers were recently engraved following a historical name audit:
- Deputy John Rooney – Cochise County Sheriff’s Office (EOW: 04/06/1913)
- Deputy Elmer Edwards – Gila County Sheriff’s Office (EOW 01/18/1926)
- Inspector George E. Pringle – U.S. Border Patrol (EOW 12/28/1940)
- Sergeant Gordon C. James – Navajo Division of Public Safety (EOW: 08/30/1960)
- Ranger Ward Hall – National Park Service (EOW: 07/16/1979)
Following a private dinner for survivor families, a procession to Wesley Bolin Plaza will begin at 6:30 pm.
The program includes a riderless horse, motor procession, presentation of colors and invocation, public remarks, roll call of heroes, rifle salute, and helicopter spotlight fly over.
Additional Memorial Information
The Arizona Peace Officers Memorial was originally dedicated on May 20, 1988. Attorney General Bob Corbin worked with the Arizona Legislature to establish the Memorial. The earliest known Arizona officer recorded as an in the line of duty death is Yuma County Sheriff Cornelius “Corney” Sage, who was attacked and killed on May 3, 1865 while traveling to Prescott on county business. A total of 361 names are engraved into one of eight granite panels surrounding the iconic bronze statue. Each year, the names of officers who have perished while in the line of duty are engraved into the Memorial and honored during a service where family, friends, and colleagues of fallen officers gather to pay their respects.
Memorial Refurbishment and Restoration
During the 2019 legislative session, Attorney General Brnovich worked with the Arizona Legislature on behalf of the Memorial Board to secure funding for the purposes of refurbishing and restoring the Memorial. Unfortunately, the Memorial was running out of space to engrave the names of fallen officers. Refurbishment began in January 2021. Memorial updates and improvements include the installation of eight new granite panels to engrave the names of fallen officers, significant lighting improvements, new signage, new concrete surrounding the Memorial, a new pedestal for the iconic Memorial bronze, re-engraving of fallen officer names, installation of new steps leading to the Memorial, and the installation of new ADA ramps.
Additional historical information regarding the law enforcement personnel engraved into the Memorial can be found here.
Members of the media are welcome to attend the Memorial service.