Law enforcement memorial comes to Havre

Havre hosted the Montana Law Enforcement Memorial for the first time since Congress and President John F. Kennedy in 1962 designated May 15 National Peace Officers Memorial Day and this week National Police Week.

The memorial, a salute to officers for their courage, commitment and service, and to honor those who have fallen in the line of duty, began before noon and ended with a reception in the Havre High School cafeteria.

Law enforcement officers of many different divisions - sheriff's deputies, police officers, tribal officers, U.S. Border Patrol agents, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officers and Montana Highway Patrol troopers, among others -  from many nearby municipalities including Toole, Lewis and Clark, Pondera and Chouteau counties sheriff's offices, as well as Royal Canadian Mounted Police from Lethbride and Medicine Hat, Alberta, among many others, marched, wheeled and rode on horseback in a parade that started at the Holiday Village Mall and concluded at Havre High School.

During the procession, people gathered along blocked-off Fifth Avenue to take pictures and wave and salute officers. The officers smiled and waved back.

Once in the Havre High gymnasium, the school band started the memorial by playing the Canadian national anthem, followed by the "Star-Spangled Banner." In between, four Border Patrol agents performed the posting of the colors.

Among the speakers was Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, Havre Mayor Tim Solomon, Montana Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney, Brian Lockerby of the Montana Department of Criminal Investigation and Montana Attorney General Tim Fox. Other speakers included family members of fallen officer Patrick Kramer of West Yellowstone, who died in a car crash in the line of duty in 2006, and Montana Highway Patrol Trooper David Delaittre, who was shot and killed while conducting a traffic stop in Three Forks in 2010. The grieving family members spoke of the officers' impact in their lives and their love for them.

In between the podium and the seating area stood three large cards on easels with the names and biographies of local fallen officers.

Blaine County Sheriff's office Deputy Joshua Rutherford died May 29, 2003, one of the cards read. He was 28 when he responded to a domestic disturbance in Harlem.

"The subject was able to gain control of Deputy Rutherford's service weapon and opened fire on the deputies, killing Rutherford and wounding his partner."

Rutherford was survived by his wife and four children.

Blaine County Sheriff's office Undersheriff Patrick Pyette died Dec. 14, 2011. He was 54 when he was hit and killed by a vehicle while directing traffic around the scene of a disabled truck on U.S. Highway 2, between Harlem and Chinook.

Pyette was survived by his wife and son.

Rocky Boy's Tribal Police Department Officer Robert James Taylor Sr. died May 27, 2002. He was 43 when he tried to rescue a man who capsized in a small rowboat in Bonneau Reservoir.

"The man he was attempting to rescue was able to make it to shore with the help of other people who were on the scene. Officer Taylor's body was recovered two days later," the card says.

Taylor was survived by his wife, daughter and five sons.

Havre Police Chief Gabe Matosich listed two additional officers: Officer George Comes at Night of the Blackfeet Agency who fell April 15,1962, and Deputy Shawn Michael VanVleet of the Phillips County Sheriff's Office, who fell Jan. 31, 2001.

Solomon, the former Hill County sheriff, said the honor went beyond hosting the event. The fallen officers are more than names. As an officer of 28 years, Solomon said, officers are family.

Lockerby told the crowd, "If you're looking for heroes, look around."

Cooney said the honored officers didn't know that day would be their last.

"Officers can never be sure what happens," Lockerby said. "Law enforcement is a dangerous profession. ... The safety of our community is their job, this they understand."

Cooney said not one Montana officer died in the line of duty in 2016.

"Our state is safer, stronger, because of your commitment and courage," he told the plethora of officers in the crowd.

Since 1878, 128 officers have fallen in the line of duty in Montana, Fox said. He told the stories of three other Montana officers who died during their service.

"Working with the men and women in law enforcement," he said, "is the greatest honor in my job."

Fox said, as of late, law enforcement have gotten kind of a bad reputation in the media. But the inappropriate actions of a few bad officers does not represent all the others, he said. Officers are always under scrutiny, Fox said, and they must always behave in a way that's above reproach.

The memorial concluded with Chief of Reserves from the Missoula County Sheriff's Office Steve Robertson playing "Amazing Grace"on bagpipes, a three volley gun salute by the Highway Patrol Honor Guard and a benediction by Chaplain Larry Lautaret of the Whitefish Police Department.