Police Memorial Week--Honor Peace Officers!

(MURFREESBORO) In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation which designated May 15th as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week that follows as Police Week.

Murfreesboro Police Commemoration

At 10:00 o'clock this coming Thursday morning (5/18/2023) the Murfreesboro Police Department (1004 N. Highland Ave.) will hold a ceremony honoring fallen Murfreesboro officers.

MPD Officer Herbert McClanahan (1946)
MPD Officer Joseph “Butch” Tomlinson (1999)
MPD Officer Kay Rogers (2005)
MPD Capt. Byron Motley, (2006)
MPD Officer Matt Lovejoy (2007)

Previous Years

In previous years, the ceremony honored all of the officers serving Rutherford County who made the supreme sacrifice. That includes the Murfreesboro Police Department, Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office, Smyrna Police Department, LaVergne Police Department, MTSU Public Safety, Tennessee Highway Patrol, U.S. Marshall Service, Veterans Administration Hospital Police Department, and Eagleville Police Department.

Constable Abner Dement died Sept. 7, 1878 after he was shot by a suspected horse thief he was trying to arrest.

Dement was trying to arrest a suspect when the suspect shot him in the stomach Aug. 19, 1878.

A total of nine officers died with the first being in 1942.

Trooper William H. James (1942)
MPD Officer Herbert McClanahan (1946)
U.S. Deputy Marshal Sam Vaughn (1953)
Trooper Lewis R. Hendon (1957)
MPD Officer Joseph “Butch” Tomlinson (1999)
MPD Officer Kay Rogers (2005)
MPD Capt. Byron Motley, (2006)
MPD Officer Matt Lovejoy (2007)
THP Trooper Andy Wall (2011)
RCSO Det. Jacob Beu (2023)

In 2023, the names of 556 officers killed in the line of duty were added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC. These 556 officers include 224 officers who were killed during 2022. An additional 332 officers who died in previous years (before 2022). Many of their stories of sacrifice had been lost to history until now. There are currently 23,785 names engraved on the Memorial.

Currently, tens of thousands of law enforcement officers from around the world converge on Washington, DC to participate in a number of planned events which honor those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

RCSO Det. Jake Beu Funeral Services Thursday

The most recent local officer to lose his life was Rutherford County Sheriffs Detective Detective Jacob “Jake” Beu died from injuries suffered in a traffic crash May 7, 2023. Beu served with the U.S. Marine Corps before joining the Sheriff’s Office in 2017. He worked as a patrol deputy and corporal before being promoted as a narcotics detective. He served on the SWAT Team.

Services to celebrate Detective Beu will be at Twelve O’clock noon at Franklin Road Baptist Church, 3148 Franklin Road, Murfreesboro, TN 37128. Burial with honors will follow at Miller Cemetery in Christiana, Tennessee. Friends are invited to visitation Thursday (5/18/2023) evening from Four O’clock till Eight O’clock also at Franklin Road Baptist Church. Memorials may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital or to Special Olympics. Roselawn Funeral Homes and Memorial Gardens are in charge of the arrangements.

During this POLICE MEMORIAL WEEK, WGNS encourages us all to reflect back on the service the nine did to make this an even better community. In addition, make time to THANK A PEACE OFFICER for all that they do here.