Montgomery police honor fallen officers

Alex Gladden, Montgomery Advertiser
·2 min read

The community came together Wednesday to grieve 28 officers who have died in the line of duty for the Montgomery Police Department since 1829.

The sharp notes of "Amazing Grace," rang out from a bagpipe on the steps of the Montgomery Police Department. Family members stood as Maj. Saba Coleman read their loved one's name.

  • Silas Goree - January 1, 1829

  • William D. Montgomery - September 22, 1886

  • John R. Pugh - October 11, 1886

  • John F. Suggs - Feburary 15, 1896

  • Thomas Walter Berrey - October 5, 1910

  • Milton Goocher - March 1, 1918

  • Joseph Earl Davis - April 16, 1919

  • John B. Barbaree - September 29, 1919

  • George Luther Berrey - October 19, 1919

  • Albert Sansom - September 28, 1922

  • Rexford C. Wright - August 11, 1929

  • Raymond B. Mathis - April 30, 1936

  • Andrew O. Brasington - September 26, 1936

  • Marion D. Stalnaker - October 17, 1950

  • James Dean Sanford - September 29, 1961

  • Samuel Douglas Sumner - November 5, 1967

  • Manford E. Furr - October 12, 1974

  • George W. McGaughey - March 15, 1975

  • William E. Noble - May 5, 1976

  • Robert C. Ussery - July 21, 1978

  • Mary P. McCord - January 5, 1982

  • James Russell Ward - October 3, 1994

  • Willie Henry Pryor - January 22, 1995

  • Anderson Gordon III - September 24, 1997

  • Keith Edwin Houts - September 30, 2006

  • Kenneth M. Armstrong - August 17, 2007

  • Joshuah P. Broadway - January 25, 2009

  • David L. Colley - April 4, 2015

Montgomery police officers fire shots in honor of fallen peers.
Montgomery police officers fire shots in honor of fallen peers.

“Yes, 28 brave souls; 28 too many," Police Chief Darryl Albert said.

There have been 623 Alabama officers and approximately 23,000 officers nationwide who have died while serving the public.

“We are those who chose to take on evil," Albert said. "We are those who chose to take on service."

Mayor Steven Reed said Montgomery must remember those who have died but also their friends and family who are left behind.

“This is a calling that comes with a cost," Reed said.

He thanked the Montgomery police officers for their courage and conviction, for the ballgames they have missed, for the birthdays when they were on duty.

Reed pledged to continue to push for increased salaries and benefits as well as top-of-the-line equipment.

“Thank you for standing on the line every day," said Col. Ryan Richardson, the commander of Maxwell Air Force Base. “... They will never be forgotten."

More: Police charge four in murder Four charged with capital murder in Montgomery teen's death

Alex Gladden is the Montgomery Advertiser's public safety reporter. She can be reached at agladden@gannett.com or on Twitter @gladlyalex.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Montgomery police honor fallen officers