For Immediate Release:
The State of Oregon will honor and remember 189 fallen law enforcement officers, and the families they left behind, during a memorial ceremony on Tuesday, May 4, 2021 at 1 PM. The event will take place outdoors, at the state memorial which is located at the Oregon Public Safety Academy in Salem. This year a small number of invited guests will attend, as the ceremony is closed to the public in order to adhere to safety restrictions in place due to the current pandemic. Governor Kate Brown will attend the ceremony as a guest and as a speaker.
The names of two fallen Oregon law enforcement officers have been approved for addition to the state memorial during this year's ceremony by the Board on Public Safety Standards and Training; Constable Hansford “Harry” Greenfield, End of Watch February 25, 1942, Silverton Police Department and Marshal Zachariah H. Stroud, End of Watch September 11, 1912, Harney City (Now part of city of Burns and Harney County). Both of these Officers are being added under the historic recognition program which allows fallen officers from previous years to be honored on the memorial after careful review and approval.
The Oregon Fallen Law Enforcement Officers' Memorial Ceremony is a significant event that the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) is proud to host each year in partnership with the Oregon Law Enforcement Memorial Fund, Oregon Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.), Oregon Fallen Badge Foundation, and Oregon's various statewide law enforcement associations.
The memorial honors 189 fallen Oregon law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty since the 1860s. This includes officers from city, county, state, tribal and federal law enforcement agencies who have served as law enforcement officers, corrections officers, and parole and probation officers.
The Oregon memorial is held the week ahead of National Police Week events in Washington, D.C. so that family members and co-workers can attend both memorial ceremonies. More than 21,000 officers who have died in the line of duty are honored on the national memorial
Background on the names being added to the Oregon Fallen Law Enforcement Officer Memorial in 2021:
Harney City Marshal Zachariah H. Stroud had encountered four individuals carelessly firing weapons in front of the post office. He cautioned the group to stop or else they would be arrested. The group resisted resulting in a fusillade of gunfire, injuries to several of those involved, and the death of Harney City Marshal Stroud. Stroud was 44 years of age at the time of his death, unmarried, and left behind his mother and father. Three of the four individuals involved in the incident were found guilty of manslaughter.
On Wednesday, February 25, 1942, The Capital Journal of Salem, Oregon reported that a Silverton Police constable had died. Constable Hansford "Harry" Greenfield died as a result of a heart attack on February 24, 1942 while engaged in helping Night Officer Vic Grossnickle investigate a break-in at a local tavern. While discussing the case with his fellow officer, he complained of feeling ill and collapsed in a nearby lavatory.
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The Oregon Law Enforcement Memorial Fund raised funds to build the state memorial more than 20 years ago and hosts the annual ceremony. For more information on the Oregon Law Enforcement Memorial Fund and the statewide license plate that is available to honor fallen law enforcement officers and firefighters please visit: https://www.oregon.gov/dpsst/BD/MFB/Pages/Oregon-Law-Enforcement-Memorial-Trust-Fund.aspx
For more information on the Oregon Fallen Law Enforcement Officer Memorial please visit:
https://www.oregon.gov/dpsst/Memorials/LawEnforcement/Pages/default.aspx
For more information about National Police Week, please visit www.LawMemorial.org/policeweek.