BY DEBBIE PAGE

Town Manager Tracey Jerome welcomed a crowd of 100 people to a solemn Fallen Officers Memorial dedication ceremony at the Mooresville Police Department on Tuesday morning as part of National Police Week.

The beautifully landscaped memorial area in front of the department’s building features a granite arch, engraved with the words “Honor Through Sacrifice,” that leads to a dark granite wall with images of fallen MPD Chief James Earl Rimmer (1938), Lieutenant Larry Vernon Barger (1974), and Officer Jordan Sheldon (2019).

Written on the back of the monument is the phrase, “You’re never really gone, until you’re forgotten.”

Jerome urged the community to visit the memorial and pause and honor those who gave all to serve their community as well as to express gratefulness for those who continue to protect and serve each day.

She also thanked the Exchange Club of Mooresville-Lake Norman for their assistance, including the blue, black, and white police flags lining the front of the police station as a “powerful visual recognition” of law enforcement’s essential and valued role in the Mooresville community.

Exchange Club of Mooresville-Lake Norman President Angela Greene spoke of the courage, integrity and commitment of these fallen officers. “I promise well will never forget,” she said.

She recalled the outpouring of grief when Officer Sheldon was killed in the line of duty in 2019, with his patrol car being covered with tributes from community members wanting to express their sorrow and gratitude for his service and sacrifice.

After the Police Honor Guard displayed the Colors and Laura Roach performed a soaring rendition of the National Anthem, Pastor David Giles of Abundant Life Foursquare Church delivered the invocation, asking that justice be delivered and that lawlessness be overcome.

He also asked that God be close to the broken-hearted family members and colleagues of the fallen officers.

Giles praised the courage law enforcement officers display every day in the community. He said the fallen officers’ sacrifice inspire officers to continue defending community members against evil to honor their memory.

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