Banks County pauses to honor fallen U.S. officers

HOMER — Banks County Sheriff's Office officials and members of the community paused Friday to pray for law enforcement and remember fallen officers from around the country.

Six officers from around the nation, including Maj. Greg "Lem" Barney from Riverdale Police Department in Georgia, were killed in the line of duty this week. Barney died as a result of gunfire in an incident on Thursday.

Gathered around the flagpole outside the Banks County Law Enforcement Center at 1 p.m., Sheriff Carlton Speed and his deputies were joined by about a dozen others in a brief remembrance as blue lights on patrol cars flashed in the background.

"The National Sheriffs' Association asked all law enforcement in the United States to come together and remember those men and women who have died in the line of duty, especially over the last couple of days," Speed said.

Those fallen officers are from Colorado, Maryland, North Dakota, Georgia and California.

After brief remarks, Speed led the group in prayer for the families of those who died or were injured, especially this week, and for all those who serve their communities on a daily basis.

Officers killed this week include:

* Police Officer Jason Moszer of Fargo Police Department in Fargo, N.D., on Thursday, as a result of gunfire;

* Senior Deputy Mark Logsdon of Harford County Sheriff's Office in Maryland, on Wednesday, as a result of gunfire;

* Senior Deputy Patrick Dailey of Harford County Sheriff's Office in Maryland, on Wednesday, as a result of gunfire;

* Deputy Sheriff Derek Geer of Mesa County Sheriff's Office in Colorado, on Wednesday, as a result of gunfire; and

* Deputy Sheriff Scott Ballantyne of Tulare County Sheriff's Office in California, on Wednesday, as a result of a plane crash.

Banks County Sheriff Carlton Speed leads his officers and several community members in prayer outside the Banks County Law Enforcement Center Friday afternoon.

Like law enforcement personnel across the nation, the Banks County Sheriff's Office paused at 1 p.m. Friday to honor those officers across the country who have died over the past few days. The initiative was coordinated by the National Sheriffs' Association.

Banks County deputies listen as a member of the community shares a passage from Scripture during Friday afternoon's brief observance outside the Banks County Law Enforcement Center.

Community member Justin Crunkleton asked to share a verse of Scripture during Friday afternoon's observance outside the Banks County Law Enforcement Center in Homer.

Five of the six law enforcement officers who lost their lives this week in America died as a result of gunfire, according to Police Lives Matter.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/2/369783/banks-county-pauses-to-honor-fallen-us-officers