Friday, August 21, 2009

Elected officials, Sedgwick County law enforcement officers and family members of peace officers slain in the line of duty broke ground today for the Law Enforcement Memorial of Sedgwick County. The event, which took place at 10:00 a.m. on the northeast corner of the City Hall campus at Central and Main streets, was led by Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer, Sedgwick County Commission Chair Kelly Parks, Wichita Police Chief Norman Williams, Sheriff Robert Hinshaw and former Sheriff Gary Steed.

“This is a significant event in a seven-year-long project to erect a memorial to the brave peace officers who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect and serve our communities,” said Mayor Carl Brewer. “The memorial will be a graceful yet powerful monument to those whose eternal vigilance stands between the citizens of Sedgwick County and those who would do them harm.”

Planning for the memorial began in 2002 when Chief Norman Williams and then Sheriff Gary Steed formed a committee of law enforcement officers, citizens and family members of the 28 Sedgwick County peace officers slain in the line of duty dating back to the 19th century. Since the project began, committee members have overseen the memorial’s development, fundraising, planning and design, raising more than $550,000 of the $600,000 needed to build the memorial and sustain it for years into the future.

“Those who have overseen this project have worked tirelessly to develop and bring to fruition a design for the memorial that is remarkable in its beauty, symbolism and tranquility,” Brewer said. “Once completed, the memorial will be a perpetual monument to the debt we owe those who have fallen, and to the deep respect we feel for the men and women behind the badge who continue to serve us all.”

The overall design for the memorial was developed by the memorial committee working with Wichita Sculptor Constance Ernatt and Landscape Architect Thomas D. Montgomery of Gossen Livingston and Associates. The centerpiece of the memorial, designed and created by Ernatt, is a bronze statue of two life-size lions – one male, one female - watching vigilantly over the community. The lions stand at the base of an eternal flame made of bronze and filled with blue glass from local artist Rollin Karg. Behind the memorial’s wall is a meditation area in which each officer killed in the line of duty is recognized with a plaque depicting their name, agency, badge and the date of their death. Beneath each plaque is a pair of bronze boots or shoes.

Construction of the memorial is expected to begin shortly and be completed in time for National Law Enforcement Memorial Week in May, 2010.