Fallen troopers honored
Under a gray sky, three fallen state police troopers were remembered in a wreath-laying ceremony Saturday.
The trio were members of the Pennsylvania State Police who were killed in the line of duty.
The Enforcers Motorcycle Club held the ceremony at the Pennsylvania State Police barracks, 200 Barracks Road.
The three officers honored by the Fallen Hero Wreath Program were Bernard St. Clair McElroy, Frederick J. Sutton and Robert Myers.
Myers, 22, accidentally was shot and killed by another officer March 28, 1913, while patrolling a flooded district in Sharon to prevent possible looting.
McElroy, 25, was injured Dec. 21, 1924, when his motorcycle collided with a passenger car in New Castle. He was seriously injured and was taken to New Castle Hospital where he died the following day.Sutton, 26, was shot and killed Jan. 3, 1940, while attempting to serve a warrant for writing a bad check. He and the town constable of McConnellsburg were escorting the suspect out of a restaurant when the suspect pulled a gun from his overcoat and shot Sutton.Sutton was transported to a hospital where he succumbed to his wound.This was the third Fallen Hero Wreath Ceremony conducted by Enforcers members at the Butler barracks according to Jason “Hollywood” Hull, president of the Shenango Valley chapter which covers Butler and Mercer counties.
Hull said, “Because we are military and law-enforcement, this falls into something we should be doing.“It is important to show respect to the officers who gave their lives in the line of duty,” said Hull.The Enforcers are made up of current and former military and law-enforcement personnel and people with similar principles, Hull said.The motorcycle club was formed in Florida more than 20 years ago and consists of 46 chapters in 14 states and one Canadian province.Hull said the Shenango Valley chapter began in October 2017.Members traveled to five cemeteries in Butler County to leave wreaths at the graves of other fallen police officers after the barracks ceremony.The wreath laying is always scheduled for the first Saturday in December.
The Fallen Hero Wreath Program was started by the family of Philadelphia police officer John Pawlowski, who was killed in the line of duty Feb. 13, 2009.The family was inspired by the national Wreaths Across America program, which honors military service members and also driven by the overwhelming amount of anti-police sentiment at the time.Family members were moved to reach out to the families of other fallen officers, and wanted the other families to know that their loved ones did not die in vain and were not forgotten.Michelle Pawlowski, the sister of the fallen officer, said Fallen Hero was founded in 2014.“Honestly, I went to sign my kids up for Wreaths Across America, and I just wondered why there wasn't something for police.“There are 300 fallen officers in Philadelphia and 16 others in Johnny's cemetery,” she said.
She and her son and daughter laid homemade wreaths on the graves of her brother and the other fallen officers in the cemetery.The program has expanded to 11 states and has included more than 1,000 fallen officers.Michelle Pawlowski credited the Enforcers chapters with helping to spread word of the Fallen Heroes Wreath Program across the country.This was the third ceremony for the motorcycle club at the Butler barracks, according to Hull.Lt. Eric Simko, commander of the Kittanning State Police barracks and serving as the day officer at the Butler barracks, thanked the Enforcers members for the wreaths and the remembrance.“It's good for the young men and women here to see those who laid their lives on the line be honored,” said Simko.
