Pam Elmer doesn't like to remember the day her husband, a Murray police officer, was struck and killed by a drunken driver.
Yet, it's too important to forget, she says.Officer Jackson Elmer died Nov. 17, 1987, while he was helping to investigate another traffic accident. He was one of three Murray police officers honored Monday during a memorial service at Murray City Hall to commemorate officers who died in the line of duty or died while employed by the police department.
Officers Joel Riet, who died of a heart attack, and Alan VanOostendorp, a cancer victim, also were recognized.
"It's hard because you go through all the memories of my husband," Elmer said. "But this gives us a chance to bring it all back together."
Elmer said the ceremony also helps her children, 9-year-old Josh and 5-year-old Brittany, have fond memories of their father. The annual observance helps Elmer keep in contact with her husband's former colleagues as well.
"I do want to keep the ties with Murray. It was part of my life, too," she said.
Bud Ellett, chief deputy of the Salt Lake County attorney's office, said police officers are "heroes in the strife."
However, the public is quick to criticize police officers, Ellett said.
At times, prosecutors second-guess decisions police officers have only seconds to make. "We may have hours to review those decisions. Sometimes, we fault them," Ellett said.
Although he may disagree with some of their decisions, Ellett said he has a deep respect for police officers. "Police officers are the real stalwarts between us and the criminal element," he said.
While Monday's service was intended to honor the Murray officers, Officer Scott Pepper encouraged the audience to remember officers throughout the country who have died.
"We are actively supporting all police officers who have lost their lives or died across the country," Pepper said.
The Murray officers who took part in the service wore small black bows on the left chest pockets of their uniforms. Police Chief Kenneth Killian said the color black signifies the deaths of the officers and the bows symbolize the unity the Murray Police Department has with other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
The bows will be part of the officers' dress uniforms, Killian said.
The brief ceremony, conducted on the steps of City Hall, ended with a gun salute and Taps.
"It never fails. I never quite make it through Taps without a tear. I know I'm not alone," Pepper said.