Clark County held its Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony on Thursday, May 18, as over 100 people attended the event to remember the lives of those who were lost in the line of duty.
The event, held at the Public Service Center in Vancouver, was last held in 2019.
The ceremony included the posting of colors by the honor guard. Hillsboro police officer Eric Bunday sang the National Anthem, which was followed by a bell-ringing ceremony and the performance of taps by Hillsboro Police Sergeant Leland Gilbert.
From 2021 through 2022, 14 law enforcement officers in Washington state died in the line of duty. They include Clark County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Jeremy Brown, who was killed in 2021, and Vancouver Police Department officer Donald Sahota, who was killed at his Battle Ground home in 2022.
The wives of both Brown and Sahota attended the ceremony.
The names of those who died in the line of duty can be found at the Washington State Law Enforcement Memorial on the Capitol campus in Olympia as well as on the wall of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Fallen law enforcement officers in Clark County include:
• Police officer Donald Sahota, Vancouver Police Department, Jan. 29, 2022
• Sergeant Jeremy Brown, Clark County Sheriff’s Office, July 23, 2021
• Sergeant Brad Crawford, Clark County Sheriff’s Office, 2004
• Trooper James S. Gain, Washington State Patrol, 1987
• Deputy Sheriff Martin S. Sowders, Clark County Sheriff’s Office, 1976
• Trooper Don R. Campbell, Jr., Washington State Patrol, 1951
• Special Agent Ernest B. Vlasich, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, 1932
• Special Agent Ballard W. Turner, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, 1932
• Sheriff Lester M. Wood, Clark County Sheriff’s Office, 1927
• Deputy Sheriff Wilfred E. Rorison, Clark County Sheriff’s Office, 1922
Fallen K-9s in Clark County include:
• K-9 Ike, Vancouver Police Department, 2015
• K-9 Kane, Clark County Sheriff’s Office, 2011
• K-9 Dakota, Vancouver Police Department, 2007
• K-9 Lucky, Clark County Sheriff’s Office, 1990
• K-9 Brie, Clark County Sheriff’s Office, 1987
National Police Memorial Week took place from Sunday, May 14 through Saturday, May 20. County Councilor Michelle Belkot read the proclamation, which instructed all Clark County government building flags to be flown at half staff to honor National Peace Officers Memorial Day on Monday, May 15.
