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April 8, 2004
Community comes through
in fund-raiser
Money will send families of
slain Mishawaka officers to national ceremony.
By ADAM JACKSON
Tribune Staff Writer
MISHAWAKA -- Giving
someone a pleasant gift can be a gratifying feeling.
But what if that gift
goes beyond being merely pleasant and becomes a once-in-a-lifetime
experience?
To Ellen Jenning, being
able to give such a gift goes beyond being merely gratifying -- it
becomes inspirational. Which is a reason why she believes an effort to
send the families of fallen Mishawaka police officers Thomas Roberts and
Bryan Verkler to a special national ceremony came to a successful end
this week.
"I feel like the way
everybody came together on this was ... done by a higher power," she
said. "I was just honored to be able to be a part of it."
The fund-raiser capped an
effort that has been ongoing since shortly after the evening of Dec. 13,
when Roberts and Verkler, responding to a call on the near-north side of
the city, were fatally shot by a man who then took his own life.
In response to the
tragedy, businesses began collecting funds to give to the families of
the men. Efforts included a Cut-A-Thon sponsored by Faces hair salon,
and the sale of clothing and specially designed teddy bears by D'Michael
Associates.
But with the May event
looming, organizers needed to raise several thousands of dollars more to
make the trip a reality for the families of Roberts and Verkler. So they
put out a call to community members to dig a little deeper into their
pockets.
And the community did.
"The whole thing was a
gift from the people of the city of Mishawaka," Jenning said.
The marketing manager for
BW Heating and Cooling in Mishawaka, Jenning was among a group of people
who helped organize the fund-raiser March 27 at a location of Martin's
Super Markets, with the goal of raising the rest of the money needed.
With sponsors that
included Zolman Tire and Martin's, organizers put together an event
complete with live radio remote broadcasts, Mishawaka High School
students flagging down potential donors as they drove past, and plenty
of enthusiasm and good will from those involved.
"There were a couple of
guys who dropped off $500 checks," Mikki Beaty of D'Michael Associates
said. "They didn't want anything in return."
The event pushed the
amount of money raised to more than $15,000, enough to send the families
of the two officers to the capital for National Law Enforcement Memorial
Week.
The event, which begins
May 9, honors men and women from across the country who lost their lives
in the line of duty while serving in law-enforcement professions. The
week will include a candlelight vigil, the presentation of a medal to
each family and the opportunity to speak personally with President Bush.
Jenning said the money
was presented to the families Tuesday night at the Fraternal Order of
Police lodge at 1825 E. 12th St. At the request of the families, the
ceremony was private.
"They've been interviewed
and photographed like crazy," Jenning said. "I think they just wanted a
little privacy."
But that doesn't mean
that the relatives of Verkler and Roberts are not grateful to the
community that came forward to show its gratitude for the sacrifice the
officers made in their quest to protect the citizens of Mishawaka.
"(The families) were just
totally touched and comforted by the love this city showed for them,"
Jenning said. "There wasn't a dry eye in the place."
It was a scene, Beaty
noted, that might lend credence to Jenning's assertion that a higher
power was involved in the efforts to bring healing and peace to the
families of the officers.
"Maybe God works in
mysterious ways," she said. "Maybe this is a wake-up call that we all
need to look out for each other."
Staff writer Adam
Jackson
ajackson@sbtinfo.com
(574) 235-6553
South Bend Tribune
05/06/04
Roberts, Verkler honored
as top officers
Mishawaka award made
posthumously to families of fallen lawmen.
By ADAM JACKSON
Tribune Staff Writer
MISHAWAKA -- Most local residents will forever remember Bryan Verkler
and Thomas Roberts as the city police officers who gave their lives in
the line of duty last December.
But on Wednesday, their colleagues on the police force remembered
them as something else -- good cops.
At a small ceremony at Mishawaka City Hall, Roberts and Verkler
posthumously were awarded the department's Police Officer of the Year
award, an honor annually bestowed on an officer who performs his job in
an exemplary fashion. Recipients of the award receive a plaque and have
their names inscribed on a permanent display in the lobby of the police
station at 200 N. Church St.
"Every year, we select an officer who exemplifies the highest level
of service in the police department" said Mike Samp, investigative
division chief. "This year, everybody voted to give the award to Tom and
Bryan. It was unanimous."
Roberts and Verkler were responding to a call on the city's
near-north side on Dec. 13, 2003, when they were fatally wounded by a
gunman who later turned his weapon on himself.
Since then, many members of the community have shown an outpouring of
support for the officers and their families, including a successful
drive to raise the more than $15,000 needed to send the families of the
men to National Law Enforcement Memorial Week in Washington, D.C.,
beginning Sunday.
That support has continued this week, beginning with Wednesday's
awarding of the Officer of the Year honors to the fallen officers and
their families.
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Dedication of monument
Mishawaka city officials are inviting the public to attend the
dedication of the city's memorial to fallen police officers Thomas
Roberts and Bryan Verkler at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in front of the
police station at 200 N. Church St. The monument was constructed
this spring to honor the two officers who were killed in the line of
duty on Dec. 13, 2003.
Parking will be available on Church Street, as well as at Central
Park, just across the river.
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In a letter read at the ceremony, Mishawaka Police Chief Matthew
Weber called the officers' deaths "senseless," and noted that
determining who should receive the 2003 Officer of the Year award was
not a difficult task.
"... it was quite obvious to everyone at the department that (Roberts
and Verkler) be named with this honor," Weber said. "We will never
forget these two brave officers."
Mayor Jeffrey Rea, who attended the ceremony, said the Officer of the
Year honors were an effort to shine a light not only on the sacrifice
the two men made in the line of duty, but also to point out the skill
and enthusiasm with which they tackled their job before their deaths.
"The primary reason for this award is that (Roberts and Verkler) were
good officers," he said. "But, we also hope that this will be a fitting
tribute to their families."
It wasn't the only tribute made Wednesday. Later in the afternoon, an
honor guard from the police department joined officials from John Glenn
High School in Walkerton to dedicate the school's shot-put facility in
honor of Verkler, who was a track star at the school before graduating
in 1994.
"(Verkler) holds our school shot-put record," John Glenn athletic
director Justin Bogunia said. "Track was his big thing, and we wanted to
do something so people would remember (Verkler) here in the future."
The Brian Verkler Throwing Arena will feature a stone with Verkler's
name and other information inscribed in it, as well as a landscaped
area. The area will be used for competition during the school's track
meets.
Bogunia said the project received strong support from school
officials.
"(Verkler) is a Walkerton guy; he's a John Glenn grad," he said. "He
made the ultimate sacrifice; this is the least we can do."
Staff writer Adam Jackson
ajackson@sbtinfo.com
(269) 687-7001
In loving memory
05/09/04
TOP: Mishawaka firefighter Eric Norris salutes the newly
unveiled monument to fallen Mishawaka police officers Saturday.
MIDDLE: Red-tipped white carnations lay at the foot of a
newly dedicated monument in honor of Mishawaka officers killed in
the line of duty.
BOTTOM: Friends and family members of slain Mishawaka
police officers Cpl. Thomas Roberts and Patrolman Bryan Verkler lay
carnations at the base of a monument dedicated Saturday outside the
police station at 120 S. Church Street in Mishawaka.
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05-16-04
President honors fallen
officers
Mishawaka officers among those
remembered who lost lives in line of duty.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The 151 federal, state and local law enforcers who
died last year in the line of duty -- among them two Mishawaka police
officers -- reported for work not knowing that they were at the end of
their watch, President Bush said Saturday at a ceremony honoring their
memory.
"In the words of a colleague of one fallen officer, 'We all take it
for granted that they will come back home safe and sound after their
shift. Then one day, they don't,"' Bush said at the national peace
officers' memorial service held on a lawn at the Capitol. "That is a
part of the heroism of law enforcement: knowing that the most routine
calls can turn suddenly violent."
On Dec. 13, Mishawaka police officers Bryan Verkler and Tom Roberts
gave their lives as part of their vow to serve and protect American
citizens. The families of the Mishawaka officers, along with Mishawaka
Police Chief Matthew Weber and other members of the department, were
part of the crowd of thousands who attended the National Peace Officers
Memorial Day Service.
During the ceremony, Jerry Schroeder, an assistant Mishawaka police
chief, escorted Roberts family members.
"It was an honor to represent the family," he said after the
ceremony. "It was hard, probably one of the hardest things I ever did."
Schroeder talked about the commitment and sacrifice of those in law
enforcement, specifically that of the fallen Mishawaka officers.
"The thing with police work, and I've thought about it a lot this
week driving down (to Washington), ... you go to it. It doesn't come to
you," he said. "And you've got to be dedicated and want to do this job.
And these two guys wanted to do this job."
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President Bush speaks
Saturday during the 23rd Annual National Police Officers' Memorial
Service on Capitol Hill to honor the 151 federal, state and local
law enforcers who died last year in the line of duty.
AP Photo |
The officers memorial service, sponsored by the Fraternal Order of
Police and the FOP Auxiliary, was first held in 1982. The event falls on
May 15 each year. For 14 of the past 15 years, the president has been
the keynote speaker. Before Bush spoke, singer Patti LaBelle sang "The
Lord's Prayer."
The president said Americans should never take for granted those in
uniform who work to make the nation safer.
"Our fallen officers died in service to justice, and in defense of
the innocent," he said. "They will never be forgotten by their comrades.
They will never be forgotten by their country."
After the remarks, Bush, who placed a red carnation in a memorial
wreath set up on the lawn, spent about an hour shaking hands, hugging,
kissing, signing autographs and posing for photographs with relatives of
the fallen officers and others.
For the families of Roberts and Verkler, the opportunity to attend
the ceremony came as a result of an outpouring of support from the
community in the wake of the deaths of the two men, who were shot while
attempting to subdue a gunman who later turned his pistol on himself.
Organizations and individuals alike gave generously to support the
families' trip, raising more than $15,000 with fund-raisers including
T-shirt and teddy bear sales, donation drives, and even a haircut-a-thon
at a local hair stylist.
In 1991, the president's father, the first President Bush, dedicated
the National Law Enforcement Officers' Memorial at Judiciary Square in
Washington. The memorial includes the names of more than 15,000 officers
who have been killed in the line of duty, dating back to 1794.
-- Tribune staff writer Adam Jackson and WSBT-TV reporter Kirk
Mason contributed to this report
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