Salem Police Dedicate Fallen Officers Memorial

SALEM, MA — A new memorial to the seven Salem police officers who lost their lives in the line of service now stands at the Salem police station.

Salem police on Monday dedicated the Fallen Officers Memorial, which was an Eagle Scout project that Thomas Oberlander developed and executed with support from the Salem community.

The muster room podium-shaped memorial was designed to resemble the podium used for roll call, inspection, unit assignments and briefings at the beginning and end of each shift.

"It is from the podium that wisdom is dispensed, information imparted, banter is directed and orders are given," Salem police said. "Granite was chosen as the stone for the Memorial as it symbolizes strength, resilience and, like the cornerstone of a building, represents a strong foundation — all qualities of a police officer.

"The open book atop the podium symbolizes the laws police officers enforce and the rules and regulations they live by, while the unturned pages represent lives cut short."

The Memorial commemorates the lives and service of:

Patrol Officer Charles J. Kellett
(End of Watch: 01 February 1930)

Patrol Officer George P. Gartland
(End of Watch: 15 September 1944)

Special Police Officer Albert Theriault
(End of Watch: 24 April 1947)

Lieutenant John J. Ryan
(End of Watch: 18 February 1953)

Patrol Officer John J. Bennett
(End of Watch: 13 October 1955)

Patrol Officer Robert E. Flynn
(End of Watch: 02 March 1958)

Patrol Officer Edward Sawicki
(End of Watch: 01 December 1980)

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)