Bethel Park police honor fallen officers
Bethel Park police Chief Tim O’Connor and Baldwin Borough police Chief Michael Scott during Bethel Park police department’s observance of National Peace Officers Memorial Day.
The Bethel Park police memorial was erected in 1988 in honor of officer Joseph Chmelynski, who was killed in 1948, and Lynn Sutter, a detective who was killed in 1987.
Bethel Park police officers observed National Peace Officers Memorial Day on May 15.
The Bethel Park police took time May 15 to honor their fallen comrades and other police officers who died in the line of duty for national Peace Officers Memorial Day, part of National Police Week.
Dressed in their uniforms, more than 20 Bethel Park police officers stood at attention at the noon ceremony as a wreath was laid in front of the large, gray stone memorial marker that sits in front of the police station. That memorial, erected in 1988, honors officer Joseph Chmelynski, who was killed in 1948, and Lynn Sutter, a detective who was killed in 1987.
So far in 2015, 52 police officers from across the country have been killed or died in the line of duty.
The Friday event was the first time the police department had a memorial ceremony to honor their own since the marker was put in place in 1988, said retired Sgt. Skip Hornak, who worked with Sutter. The memorial ceremony was the idea of new police Chief Timothy O’Connor.
“There have been a number of ceremonies,” O’Connor said. “Washington, D.C., has a big one. And we decided to have one here.” The ceremony may become an annual tradition for the department, O’Connor said.
Baldwin Borough police Chief Michael Scott played bagpipes as officers stood at attention and municipal employees watched. Each officer had a black piece of cloth across his badge and the flag at the municipal building was at half-staff.
Joining the Bethel Park police were officers from the Bethel Park School District and Allegheny County, as well as retired police officers.
“It would be nice if this continues,” said Scott, who played his bagpipes at the Washington, D.C., memorial service a day earlier. “Police nationwide are under attack. This was impressive today and a fitting remembrance.”
Peace Officers Memorial Day was started in 1962 by President John F. Kennedy. Each May 15 was to be Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which that date falls as Police Week.