Calhoun County, AL – Today at 11:00 am there will be a ceremony held at Centennial Memorial Park in Anniston to honor the officers that have given their lives to the community. This past week was National Police Week which was first officially recognized in 1962 by President John F. Kennedy. National Police Week was established by a joint resolution of Congress in 1962 that pays special recognition to those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others.
The Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP) is a private, not for profit, group that works to list all law enforcement officers and correctional officers that have died while protecting the community they work for. The page is dedicated to covering the entire country and the list is, unfortunately, very long. ODMP also works hard to assist families of fallen officers when they are able to; according to their site, ” In 2010 the ODMP was awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, to provide nationwide line of duty death notifications and resources on benefits available to survivors of fallen law enforcement officers.”
Calhoun County has not been spared from violent attacks against police officers and many of them have been taken away from the community too soon. Each name on the list below is a reflection of a person that wanted to take their life and dedicate it to enforcing the law so that their communities could feel safe when they went out and enjoyed the area. For their choice in careers, they would meet some of the most dangerous elements in the community and engage them in order to keep them from committing crimes against others. In these events the danger they faced caused them the give the ultimate sacrifice for the citizens of Calhoun County and their respective cities.
The list below is presented by agency in alphabetical order:
Anniston Police Department
Police Officer Justin David Sollohub
Anniston Police Department, AL
EOW: Thursday, August 25, 2011
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Police Officer Ralph M. Griffin
Anniston Police Department, AL
EOW: Tuesday, June 22, 1954
Cause of Death: Stabbed
Police Officer Hoyt Holder
Anniston Police Department, AL
EOW: Sunday, May 22, 1938
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Police Officer Grady Todd
Anniston Police Department, AL
EOW: Sunday, August 2, 1936
Cause of Death: Motorcycle crash
Police Officer Robert Allen Draper
Anniston Police Department, AL
EOW: Thursday, January 27, 1927
Cause of Death: Gunfire (Inadvertent)
Police Officer Brice Hurst
Anniston Police Department, AL
EOW: Wednesday, April 26, 1922
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Police Officer Joe Holliday
Anniston Police Department, AL
EOW: Wednesday, April 26, 1922
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Police Officer Marion Screws
Anniston Police Department, AL
EOW: Tuesday, February 2, 1915
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Police Officer Clarence B. Kettles
Anniston Police Department, AL
EOW: Monday, February 1, 1915
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Police Officer Jack Holland
Anniston Police Department, AL
EOW: Tuesday, December 22, 1914
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Police Officer Will Dillard
Anniston Police Department, AL
EOW: Saturday, September 12, 1914
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Police Officer J. W. Dashwood
Anniston Police Department, AL
EOW: Saturday, September 12, 1914
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Chief of Police Harry Shiretzki
Anniston Police Department, AL
EOW: Saturday, May 23, 1914
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Police Officer S. C. “Pad” Zaner
Anniston Police Department, AL
EOW: Friday, August 4, 1911
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Police Officer John L. Cunningham
Anniston Police Department, AL
EOW: Sunday, June 25, 1911
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office
Deputy Jailer Timothy Williams
Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office, AL
EOW: Monday, December 17, 2001
Cause of Death: Automobile crash
Special Deputy Sheriff Benjamin Lawrence “Lon” O’Bryant
Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office, AL
EOW: Sunday, October 6, 1918
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Jacksonville Police Department
Patrolman Willie Lester Smith
Jacksonville Police Department, AL
EOW: Saturday, March 25, 1972
Cause of Death: Automobile crash
Sergeant Joseph Lee Maddox
Jacksonville Police Department, AL
EOW: Sunday, July 4, 1971
Cause of Death: Heart attack
Sergeant Clarence Echols Martin
Jacksonville Police Department, AL
EOW: Sunday, April 13, 1969
Cause of Death: Automobile crash
Chief of Police Dudley Emerson Whiteside
Jacksonville Police Department, AL
EOW: Tuesday, June 21, 1955
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Chief of Police John T. Rowland
Jacksonville Police Department, AL
EOW: Monday, August 27, 1928
Cause of Death: Poisoned
Town Marshal Seaborn J. Crook
Jacksonville Police Department, AL
EOW: Tuesday, August 16, 1881
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Piedmont Police Department
Officer F. Augusta “Gus” Kimberly
Piedmont Police Department, AL
EOW: Monday, August 27, 1934
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Chief of Police Charles R. Smith
Piedmont Police Department, AL
EOW: Sunday, October 29, 1933
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Oxford
Lieutenant Dexter Holcomb
Oxford Police Department, AL
EOW: Friday, February 16, 2007
Cause of Death: Struck by vehicle
Captain William Henry Beard
Oxford Police Department, AL
EOW: Friday, August 19, 1977
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Chief of Police R. E. Sparks
Oxford Police Department, AL
EOW: Friday, May 7, 1948
Cause of Death: Gunfire
If you would like to visit the police memorial wall, it is open to the public all year at the Centennial Memorial Park located at 225 E 17th St, in Anniston, AL. (Next to the Anniston Fire Department).
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