Sheriff Dart to Attend Ceremony Honoring Fallen Officers

May 8, 2017Press Release

Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart will join the families of fallen officers as they remember those killed in the line of duty at the 16th annual Cook County Peace Officers Memorial Ceremony.

The hour-long ceremony starts at 11 a.m. on May 9 at the Cermak Woods Forest Preserve, 7601 W. Ogden Ave. in Lyons, at the site of the proposed Cook County Peace Officer Memorial dedicated to all fallen officers.

The ceremony will honor the more than 700 officers from federal, state, county and municipal agencies who have died in the line of duty in Cook County.

This year’s event will recognize Cook County Sheriff’s Police Officer Jason Gallero who died Sept. 15, 2016 while training with a class of recruits.

Five historical honorees killed in the line of duty will also be recognized:

  • Phoenix Police Special Officer Joseph Eonikos, who died April 6,1913
  • Cook County Highway Police Officer Robert Stafford, who died Oct. 15,1922
  • Cook County Highway Police Officer Henry Westlund, who died Oct. 24,1922
  • Cook County Jail Officer George Turley, who died Aug. 14,1951
  • Cook County Sheriff’s Police Detective Walter McCarthy, who died Dec. 2,1967

At 10:30 a.m., a silent police motorcade representing police agencies in Cook County will depart from Morton College, 3801 S. Central Ave in Cicero, and travel to the site of the ceremony.

The event is hosted by the Peace Officers Memorial Foundation of Cook County, a non-profit organization dedicated to honoring all area officers killed in the line of duty.

For more information about the Peace Officers Memorial Foundation of Cook County, visit: https://pomfcc.net.