BUCKS COUNTY, PA — Bucks County will pause on Monday, May 18, to remember the lives of 16 law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty since 1898 while protecting and serving their communities.
The public is invited to attend this year's Police Memorial Service, which begins at 7 p.m. at Saint Andrew Church, 81 Swamp Road, in Newtown Township.
Dozens of officers from throughout the county are expected to attend the evening service, which is held in conjunction with National Police Memorial Week.
"We encourage everyone in the community to join us in doing our small part to honor and never forget those officers who made the ultimate sacrifice while protecting our communities," said event organizers.
(Jeff Werner/Patch)
(Jeff Werner/Patch)
A hat on display at the service represents fallen Newtown Borough Police Officer Brian Gregg, who was killed in the line of duty in 2005. (Jeff Werner/Patch)
During the poignant remembrance, officers carry the hats of the fallen officers to the front of the church while their names are read aloud.
One of the hats represents Pennsylvania State Constable Erwin Mondeau, the county's earliest known officer killed in the line of duty on Feb. 23, 1898. Mondeau was shot and killed in Doylestown as he and another constable attempted to arrest a man on a bench warrant for robbery.
Another hat will represent Henry Kolbe, who died in Doylestown on Sept. 22, 1914. Kolbe, a state constable in Doylestown, had been called to apprehend an 18-year-old man suspected of having stolen $48 from the office of Harrington H. Rosenberger, and having forged a check for $75 on J.W. Stilwagon & Son.
Kolbe was shot and killed while escorting the forgery suspect to the Bucks County Prison on Pine, which is now the Michener Art Museum. On West Ashland near Clinton Street, the 18-year-old youth took out a .38-caliber revolver and shot Kolbe through the heart.
Another hat will represent Newtown Borough Police Officer Brian Gregg, who was shot and killed by a prisoner two decades ago inside the emergency department at St. Mary Medical Center. A Newtown Borough park and a section of the Newtown Bypass now bear his name.
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