Remembering those lost: Law officers who died in the line of duty honored at service

Dave Rhodes, The Herald-Mail
·3 min read

The Rev. Steve McCarty drew on the late radio commentator Paul Harvey’s narration, “Policeman,” to illustrate what law enforcement officers are expected to do and be.

Speaking at last week's annual service to honor officers killed in the line of duty, McCarty quoted Harvey’s words about the many ways the job can be a thankless endeavor subject to public criticism regardless of what action is taken.

“This is something that really hits home with me,” McCarty said, quoting Harvey, “A policeman must be a minister, a social worker, a diplomat, a tough guy and also a gentleman.

“And of course, they'll have to be a genius … to have a feed a family on their salary.”

Father Steve McCarty, vicar of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Clear Spring, speaks during last week's service to honor area law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty.
Father Steve McCarty, vicar of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Clear Spring, speaks during last week's service to honor area law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty.

About 30 people attended the ceremony in the historic St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Clear Spring, whose congregation dates to 1839 and currently includes active and retired law enforcement personnel.

“We don’t have a big banner out there, but we are pretty much a blue-line congregation,” said McCarty, the church's vicar and a retired Maryland State Police trooper who has served in other law enforcement capacities. “We’re 100% behind the police here.”

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The names of those lost in the line of duty that were read aloud at the service included local officers who died recently:

  • Hagerstown Police Officer Donald Ralph "Barney" Kline, who was shot to death by Merle Unger on Dec. 13, 1975, after the off-duty officer tried to stop an armed robbery at Kim’s Korner Store in Hagerstown. Unger is serving a life sentence.

  • Smithsburg Police Officer Christopher Shane Nicholson, who was shot and killed by Douglas Wayne Pryor on Dec. 19, 2007, as he responded to Pryor's home following a report that Pryor had harmed the mother of his children, Alison Munson. Pryor is serving multiple life sentences for the deaths of Nicholson and Munson, as well as for shooting at other responding police officers.

  • Maryland Division of Corrections Officer Jeffery Wroten, who was shot to death by Brandon T. Morris on Jan. 26, 2006, as he guarded Morris at the former Washington County Hospital. Morris then took a hospital visitor hostage, carjacked a taxi, robbed the driver and forced him at gunpoint to drive on a chase. Morris was convicted of 36 charges and sentenced to life in prison, according to court records.

  • Pennsylvania Wildlife Conservation Officer David Grove, a graduate of Grace Academy in Hagerstown, who was shot and killed by Christopher Johnson on Nov. 11, 2010. Grove was investigating deer poaching when he pulled Johnson and a friend over on a rural road near Gettysburg, Pa., and a shootout ensued. Johnson was found guilty of murder and was sentenced to death.

  • Maryland State Police Trooper Larry Eugene Small, a South Hagerstown High School graduate who was killed along with Trooper 1st Class John Edward Sawa on March 10, 1987, when a tractor-trailer crashed into their police cars in the median of Interstate 95 near Havre de Grace. The tractor-trailer driver was charged with two counts of homicide by motor vehicle while intoxicated.

Vienna Moon-Kline, daughter of slain Hagerstown Police Officer Donald Ralph "Barney" Kline, receives a flower from Fraternal Order of Police Thomas Pangborn Lodge #88 Chaplain Chuck Kauffman during last week's service at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Clear Spring to honor law enforcement officers who gave their lives in the line of duty.
Vienna Moon-Kline, daughter of slain Hagerstown Police Officer Donald Ralph "Barney" Kline, receives a flower from Fraternal Order of Police Thomas Pangborn Lodge #88 Chaplain Chuck Kauffman during last week's service at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Clear Spring to honor law enforcement officers who gave their lives in the line of duty.

Retired Washington County Sheriff's Office Lt. Greg Alton described the events that led to Nicholson's death, and noted that Nicholson's mother once revealed in a media interview that her son had overcome a serious heart ailment as a boy.

"Officer Nicholson died the same way he entered this world," Alton said. "Fighting"

Chuck Kauffman, a retired Hagerstown Police detective and chaplain of the Fraternal Order of Police Thomas Pangborn Lodge No. 88, said that Kline is remembered as a "quiet, honest and dutiful person" who had been cited by former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover for his undercover work breaking up an interstate theft ring.

Hagerstown Police held a separate ceremony on May 11 to recognize the six officers who gave their lives in the line of duty over the department's history.

Correction: This story was updated at 12:19 p.m. May 27, 2022, to include details about Trooper Larry Eugene Small. The Herald-Mail apologizes for the error.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Slain law enforcement officers remembered for their sacrifices