Three law enforcement officials who died on duty in 2015 were remembered Saturday during the 29th annual Missouri Law Enforcement Memorial Service on the north side of the state Capitol.
Their names - James M. Bava, Peggy M. Vassallo and Steven "Brett" Hawkins - were added to the Wall of Honor, recognizing their service. Hundreds of law enforcement officials from agencies across the state and loved ones of fallen officers were in attendance on the sunny, yet somber day.
Bava, a Missouri Highway Patrol trooper, died in a one-vehicle crash in August 2015 after trying to stop a motorcyclist for a traffic violation. The fleeing suspect, Serghei Comerzan, led Bava on a high-speed chase, which led to the crash on Route FF in Audrain County. Comerzan was charged with second-degree murder.
Vassallo, a sergeant with the Bellefontaine Neighbors Police Department, died after being struck by a vehicle in north St. Louis County as she checked on a driver in an accident she was involved in. She also died in August 2015, and the driver who hit Vassallo has been charged with manslaughter.
Hawkins, a deputy with the Harrison County Sheriff's Department, suffered a fatal heart attack in September 2015. He responded to a call about a frantic subject several hours earlier that spurred a police search in the area.
Loved ones of these officers and dozens more held white carnations as they walked down a center aisle as the names of deceased law enforcement officers were read. End of watch dates, or days the officers died, ranged from 1908-2015. There were sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, and brothers and sisters who came to pay homage.
Looking out at the crowd, Gov. Jay Nixon said there is great support for those in pain.
He spoke at Bava's funeral last September inside a Dardene Prairie church packed with not only his family and friends but also law enforcement officers from across Missouri and other states.
"I know that at other funerals for our fallen officers, the feelings must have been very similar - a deep sense of grief and loss but also a feeling of solidarity and pride that was a testament to an officer willing to give his or her life to service of others," he said. "That is the nature of what our law enforcement officers do - run toward danger while others run from it, and I have seen it many times first hand."
Four other officers, who died in 1908 and the 1930s, were also added to the Wall of Honor: Arlo F. Smith and Bernard H. Menker, Terminal Railroad Police Department in St. Louis, and Louis Anthony Olivero and James C. Gallagher, Jackson County Sheriff's Department.
"We speak these seven names in gratitude and in grief," said Attorney General Chris Koster. "Gratitude for their service and sacrifice, and grief for the friends and family they leave behind. The loss of a beloved mother or father, son or daughter, sister or brother is a heavy burden, one for which we can provide your family little solace except our own promise to share this grief with you. As we share our fondest memories of those we have lost, knowing not only their ultimate sacrifice but also the vibrancy of the lives that they lived, the people they loved, the children they raised and the decades of service they've given our community."
The Jefferson City Police Department helped put on the memorial service. Officers from the Cole County Sheriff's Office and Holts Summit Police Department also participated in the ceremony.