Community Celebrates and Honors Local Law Enforcement, Remembers Fallen Officers

Brown County law enforcement officers were honored with a special candlelight service on Tuesday evening at the Depot Plaza. The event, “Light the Night,” was organized by wives of local officers and supported by several area organizations, businesses and volunteers.

Approximately 450 gathered at the Depot Plaza in Brownwood to support, celebrate and pray for local officers. Many in the audience were wearing t-shirts showing support as well.

Special guest speakers Allison Uribe, Wives on Duty Auxiliary Chaplain San Antonio Police Department; Charles Lowe, senior pastor, Greater Faith Community Church; and Mitch Slaymaker, Deputy Executive Director Texas Municipal Police Association addressed the crowd.

Uribe spoke of how being a law enforcement family is often hard, never knowing if your officer will make it home after his/her shift. She also talked about the power of prayer and how communities come together during tragedies and loss uniting in prayer.

“There is something about tragedy that will bring us to our knees as a nation,” said Uribe. “Our lives should be what we stand for in prayer.”

Uribe stated that we all matter, our lives are a part of God’s plan, and that he sees us even when we feel alone and unimportant.

“All lives lost have mattered since the beginning of time and with each passing day, we are all a huge part of God’s work in building, for not only do we honor the fallen tonight but those that they do that for each day,” Uribe stated. “Those that are officers gear up for it each day, for their city, their town, their community and in this case, for Brownwood, the very ones that officers have taken an oath for, community.”

Uribe thanked the community for supporting officers.

“Thank you for the action that no one may see, thank you for your random acts of kindness, thank you even when you didn’t say thank you audibly, but your smile spoke volumes,” stated Uribe.
“I tell you precious community, that God sees you.”

Pastor Lowe explained how officers make sure we as a community are safe, they serve despite low pay, odd hours, having to face gunshots and evil. He quoted Chief Brown of the Dallas Police Department, “We’re wanting law enforcement officers to do too much in society. Every societal failure, we put it off on the cops to solve.” Brown noted issues including mental health, drug addiction, the large proportion of African-American single mothers, and failing schools. “Policing was never meant to solve all those problems.”

Slaymaker explained that no officer plans to take a life, and they dread the thought of ever having to make a decision to use deadly force. He explained that officers need the community to stand behind them, to be that voice of reason as a reference that police are not the enemy. Gunfire fatalities of officers is up 74%, which directly correlates with the false idea that officers are out to kill people, and target minorities, explained Slaymaker.

“I think it is much harder knowing you may have to take a life, than it is to go to work knowing you may have to lay down your own,” said Slaymaker. “Never before, in the history of policing, has there been a safer, more professional police force nationwide, and that includes your very own Brownwood Police Department. We need you, not in the theater of operations, but in public opinion. We need to turn the tide, we need you.”

Officers lost in the line of duty in Texas were honored with an “End of Watch” slide show, followed by special song and a balloon release.

Pictured above members of the community hold glow sticks as the “End of Watch” roll call was made.

Below are more photos of the ceremony.