A new memorial honoring police officers who made the ultimate sacrifice was unveiled Thursday evening in Grand Rapids, as the police department joined other members of the West Michigan law enforcement community Thursday evening for the Police Memorial Day Service.
Grand Rapids police officer Rebecca Whitman says putting your life on the line is a part of putting on the uniform.
“I think a lot of people understand us but the ones who don’t, don’t realize that we are human," Whitman said. "We have families, we have lives, and we put our lives on the line for somebody we don’t know. And our families worry about us every day we leave the house, and don’t know if we are going to make it home that night," she said. "Every single day.”
Grand Rapids Police have lost 15 officers in the Department’s history, with the most recent being Officer Robert Kozminski in 2007. The West Grand Neighborhood Organization in partnership with Brann’s Steakhouse & Grill presented a memorial honoring Kozminski at the service.
“Well, we wanted to honor all of the officers," Johnny Brann said. "For the Kozminski family, we raised money (for the memorial) so when they come here they get a real warm feeling of all of the support. It was just the right thing to. He needed to be honored, he's a fallen hero.”
A roll call listing all of the names of the fallen were read out loud one by one as law enforcement officers placed a rose on the memorial in memory. Included was Norton Shores Police Officer Jon Ginka, who died in the line of duty Wednesday morning.
