Page 22 - East BlueNote July August 2018

Rocky Mount Lodge 46 - Twin County Peace Officers Memorial Service

By Greg Brown – State Sergeant at Arms

Local fallen police officers were honored as heroes during a special event Thursday May 10, in downtown Rocky
Mount. The ceremony, sponsored by Rocky Mount Lodge 46 of the N.C. Fraternal Order of Police, marked Peace
Officers Memorial Day which honors and remembers law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty.
Each year we come together to Honor and remember our Fallen Brothers and Sisters that have made the ultimate
sacrifice. We come together to show our respect to each of these Fallen Heroes. We would like each family to
know that their loved one did not die in vain and their memory will continue to live on. We must continue to honor
them through a commitment to law enforcement to ensure that their sacrifice was not in vain. For they will remain
in our hearts forever.

Those who gave their lives in the line of duty are heroes. They are heroes not only because of how they died but
because of how they lived. The courage shown during the last few moments of their lives was not an unusual event
but a daily one.

The following names are inscribed on the Law Enforcement Memorial Monument which stands by the Nash
County Court House, in Nashville, NC.

James Stallings - Spring Hope Police Department EOW 09-21-1910

Matt Ransom Gwatney - Tarboro Police Department EOW 03-03-1917

Plummer Ray Riggan - Tarboro Police Department EOW 03-03-1917

Richmond Powell - Princeville Police Department EOW 08-21-1923
William Haywood Webb - Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office EOW 10-06-1964

Clyde B. Avent - NC State Highway Patrol EOW 12-12-1949
Russell E. Gilliam - Nash County Sheriff’s Office EOW 10-11-1975
Thomas Alan Cone - Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office EOW 01-25-1990

Willard Wayne Hathaway - Sharpsburg Police Department EOW 07-18-1997

Tonya Doreen Gillikin - Enfield Police Department EOW 03-15-1999

David Young - Sharpsburg Police Department EOW 04-12-2005

Alan Christopher Silver - Rocky Mount Police Department EOW 05-02-2007

Timothy C. Barnes - NC DMV License and Theft EOW 07-28-2010
Warren “Sneak” Lewis III - Nash County Sheriff’s Office EOW 06-09-2011

Bobby Gene Demuth, Jr. - NC State Highway Patrol EOW 09-08-2012

David Sean Manning - Edgecombe County Sheriff's Office EOW 03-11-2018

Lodge 46 President Tim Braddy said that Peace Officers Memorial Day is a vital important day for law enforce-
ment officers. “We make a solemn pledge to our brothers and sisters that we will always remember their sacrifice.

While we carry out that promise every day we serve, Peace Officer Memorial Day is our opportunity to share the
story of sacrifice with the public.”

Tragically, the trend continues upward with 130 officers dying in the line of duty just in 2017. This includes

numerous examples of police officers being specifically targeted and ambushed.

Braddy said that those in law enforcement continue to hope that something positive can come from the sacrifice of
fallen officers. “We remember those who have died protecting others. We also hope that this can serve as recogni-
tion and a turning point so those who strive to keep our communities safe are kept safe themselves.”

Mayor David Combs stated, "I wish we didn't have to have this type of ceremony. But it's the world we live in and

law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day."
Rocky Mount Police Captain George Robinson said, “A law enforcement officer can go from helping someone

with car problems to a violent encounter in a matter of seconds. So many officers have given their lives so we can
be safe. Every fallen officer is someone's father or mother, brother or sister, son or daughter.”

Warren and Ann Lewis, parents of Nash County Deputy Warren "Streak" Lewis III, who died in the line of duty in

2011, said the ceremony is always beautiful. Ann Lewis stated, "Our son enjoyed doing his job. He died doing what

he loved to do."

Continued on P. 24

www.ncfop.org 22