Fallen officers honored at Peace Officer Memorial Day service in Port Huron

Law enforcement officers from across the Blue Water Area gathered at the International Flag Plaza in Port Huron Wednesday to honor colleagues who had fallen in the line of duty.

The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol's Port Huron Office hosted the ceremony for Peace Officer Memorial Day, held each year to honor officers who died on the job.

In addition to border patrol, the Port Huron Police Department, St. Clair County Sheriff's Office, Michigan State Police and U.S. Border Patrol Detroit Services were in attendance.

Several law enforcement heads spoke about officers past and present who had died on the job.

St. Clair County Sheriff Mat King cited statistics from the Officer Down Memorial Page, a website which tracks law enforcement deaths, showing 58 officers have died across the United States in 2024 while on duty. That number is an increase compared to the same time last year, which saw 138 deaths throughout the whole year.

Michigan has seen 667 on-duty officer deaths in its history, 10 of which happened in St. Clair County.

Port Huron Police Department Chief Joseph Platzer used his speech to memorialize Sgt. Roy Shambleau, the first and only Port Huron police officer to die on the job. Shambleau was killed on Oct. 10, 1930 while transporting two jail inmates, one of whom had a hidden gun and shot Shambleau in the head three times.

Michigan State Police Lt. David Busacca noted four state troopers have died on duty in St. Clair County, the most recent being Sgt. Todd Lawrence Leveille, who died in 2021 due to exposure to COVID-19. The Officer Down Memorial Page website estimates 900 U.S. law enforcement officers died from COVID-19 exposure that happened on the job.

Busacca also took the opportunity to remember Trooper Timothy O'Neil, a friend of his who died in a motorcycle crash in Kent County.

"That was a loss I felt personally and deeply," Busacca said.

CBP Port Huron Port Director Jeremy Wallace discussed the importance of remembering each officer who died.

"Let us not only mourn the lives of those who have fallen, but celebrate the lives they lived and protected," Wallace said.

Contact Johnathan Hogan at jhogan@gannett.com.

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