05/10/2026
As National Police Week begins, the officers and staff of the Pickerington Police Department wish to pay their highest honors to those law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty.
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy proclaimed May 15th as National Peace Officers Memorial Day, and the calendar week in which May 15th falls, as National Police Week. National Police Week pays special recognition to those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others.
The job of a law enforcement officer has never been safe or easy, but there has always been those who are willing to place themselves in harm’s way and stand between the criminals and the public they protect. Unfortunately, there have been many, many losses along the way.
Did you know there are almost 27,000 known law enforcement officer line of duty deaths (LODD) in the United States since 1776? 937 of those deaths occurred in Ohio since we became the 17th state in the union in 1803.
So far this year, our nation has lost 38 law enforcement members killed in the line of duty.
In 2025, our nation lost 111 officers who were killed in the line of duty. In 2025, the State of Ohio lost the following officers:
*Hamilton County Deputy Larry Henderson EOW: May 2, 2025
*Morrow County Deputy Daniel Sherrer EOW: May 26, 2025
*Lorain Police Officer Phillip Wagner EOW: July 24, 2025
*Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper Nicholas Cayton EOW: October 16, 2025
Rest easy brothers and sisters. We have the watch from here.