Hundreds of people attended today's dedication of a memorial to four Lakewood, police officers who were shot to death.
An Arkansas parolee, Maurice Clemmons, gunned down the officers at a local coffee shop one year ago today. Lakewood Police Chief Bret Farrar told the crowd that community support has sustained his department over this past difficult year.http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kplu/local-kplu-937344.mp3
“Most of the people we deal with daily are in some form of crisis. We try to be there for them. But who’s there for us? For years, I’ve always been told well of course it’s the other police officers that are there for you," Farrar said.
"But I stand here before you to correct that because for us it is the community. When we really needed the support and the love, the community came forward and gave that to us.”
Farrar cut a ribbon in front of a new black granite memorial outside his police station. Then family members of the fallen officers, dignitaries and the general public walked past, leaving flowers and other tributes. The construction materials and labor for the memorial wall were all donated.
