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The names of 17 law enforcement officers and two canine partners who died in the line of duty in Oklahoma are dedicated on the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial.

Washington County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) Corporal Kyle Davis was one of the officers honored during the 54th Annual Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial Service on Friday morning.

Sheriff Scott Owen says the service brought in a little more closure for WCSO, however, he doesn't think closure will fully come to them. Owen says Deputy Davis will forever be in their hearts and minds. He says they are going to keep honoring Davis.

The memorial is located on the west grounds of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety Headquarters, 3600 M. L. King Avenue in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial is the oldest state memorial honoring its fallen officers in the United States and was dedicated May 15, 1969.

The seventeen fallen officers and two canine partners being dedicated are:

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• Jesse S. Perkins, Posse, U.S. Marshal Service, was part of a large posse attempting to arrest the remaining members of a gang of outlaws when he was shot and killed on March 17, 1891.
• Joseph Soulek, Patrolman, Oklahoma City Police Department, died March 20, 1909, after being hospitalized several weeks for typhoid pneumonia, contracted while walking his beat in a cold driving rain on March 7th.
• Francis M. Hatcher, Deputy Sheriff, Pontotoc County Sheriff’s Office, died on July 23, 1909, after being shot the evening before while keeping the peace at a large picnic south of Ada.
• Edward A. Eshelman, Officer, Pawnee Police Department, was shot and killed early the morning of May 13, 1922, while arresting three men in a stolen car.
• John A. George, Officer, Oklahoma City Police Department, was acting Commander of the Honor Guard the morning of February 18, 1981, when he was killed in a motorcycle accident while enroute home to change into his Honor Guard uniform for a funeral of a retired officer.
• James A. Hayes, Trooper, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, died of a heart attack shortly after arresting a suspected drunk driver who resisted arrest in Catoosa on July 9, 1988.
• Matthew R. North, Officer, Bernice Police Department, suffered a heart attack as he was getting off duty at 4 p.m. on March 19, 1921, and died at the hospital early the next morning.
• Kyle J. Davis, Corporal, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, suffered a heart attack on March 25, 2021, shortly after assisting other officers with a combative prisoner in the county jail and died an hour later.
• Lewis F. Cantey, Officer, Grand River Dam Authority Police Department, died June 18, 2021, from complications from the Covid virus for which he had been hospitalized several days.
• Ray L. Jacomo, Jr., Deputy Sheriff, Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office, did not feel well and went home upon his return to the sheriff’s office the morning of April 21, 2021, after transporting a felony suspect. Later that afternoon Jacomo died of a heart attack as he was being transported to the hospital.
• John A. Harris, II, Sergeant, Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, was hospitalized July 29, 2021, for the Covid virus and died August 19, 2021, from complications from the virus.
• John L. Trout, Sr., Sergeant, Bernice Police Department was hospitalized the first part of August 2021 with the Covid virus and died August 25, 2021, from complications from the virus.
• Edgar Pales, Jr., Officer, Owasso Police Department, was hospitalized in late August with the Covid virus and died from complication from the virus on August 29, 2021.
• Steven D. Rozell, Jailer, Washita County Sheriff’s Office, was diagnosed with the Covid virus on August 9, 2021, and died from complications of the virus on August 29, 2021.
• Howard K. Smith, III, Officer, Owasso Police Department, contracted the Covid virus the middle of August 2021, was hospitalized and died of complications from the virus on September 27, 2021.
• Frank Rodriguez, Jr., Sergeant, Midwest City Police Department, contracted the Covid virus and was hospitalized several weeks before he died from complications from the virus on September 29, 2021.
• Lewis W. Roller, Investigator, District 6 District Attorney’s Office, had contracted the Covid virus, was hospitalized and died from complications from the virus on December 16, 2021.
• Canine Partner Jaeger, Stephens County Sheriff’s Office, suffered serious spinal injuries when he fell trying to jump into the patrol unit on duty April 12, 2021, and was euthanized April 14, 2021.
• Canine Partner Tito, Eufaula Police Department, was found unresponsive after being left in the patrol unit for thirty minutes when the unit’s air conditioning malfunctioned the afternoon of April 15, 2021.

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For more information on these officers or any of the other over eight hundred and fifty officers who have died in the line of duty in Oklahoma go to the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Memorial website at oklemem.com.