Officer Down Memorial Page

You have not been forgotten. I miss you and think of you often.

M.P.
March 16, 2010

"The Badge"

He starts his shift each day
To respond to calls unknown.
He drives a marked patrol car.
A police officer he is known.

He's paid by the citizens' taxes
To make it safe on the streets.
But he usually has a second job
'Cause a waitress has his salary beat.

Now he doesn't know a holiday
'Cause he works all year round.
And when Thanksgiving and Christmas finally arrive
At his home he cannot be found.

He's cursed and assaulted often,
The one whos blood runs blue.
He seldom ever gets a thanks,
To some he's just a fool.

His friends are always other cops
'Cause people just don't understand
That underneath his badge and gun,
He's just another man.

He knows there might not be a tomorrow
In this world of drugs and crime.
And he gets so mad at the court system
'Cause the crooks don't get any time.

And each day when he leaves for work,
He prays to God above.
Please bring me home after my shift
So I can see the ones I love.

But tonight he stops a speeding car,
He's alone down this ole' highway.
It's just a little traffic infraction.
He does it everyday.

Well, he walks up to the driver's window,
And his badge is shining bright.
He asked the guy for a driver's license,
When a shot rang through the night.

Yes, the bullet hit its mark,
Striking the officer in the chest.
But the Department's budget didn't buy
Each officer a bullet-proof vest.

So he lay on the ground bleeding.
His blood wasn't blue - His blood was red.
And briefly he thought of his loved ones
'Cause in a moment the officer was dead.

In the news they told the story
Of how this officer had died.
And some who listened cared less,
But those who loved him cried.

Well, they buried him in uniform
With his badge pinned on his chest.
He even had his revolver,
He died doing his best.

Written By:
David L. Bell
Sergeant
Richland County Sheriff's Department
Columbia, South Carolina
Used with Special Permission of the Author
Copyright © 1999 - All Rights Reserved
and may not be duplicated without permission

Investigator David L Bell
Richland County Sheriff's Dept., Columbia, SC
January 19, 2008

UNDERCOVER
No crisp uniform of honor did he wear
Nor golden badge of glory did his chest bear
Only troubling thoughts of money, guns and drugs
Fighting back the tears as he collected his nightly hugs

In this secret life he chose, he clearly was the best
But his uneasy path was much different then the rest
He knelt in prayer with his family at night
Before he quietly went out to carry on his fight

They kept a scrapbook of his many feats
But his true worth is not captured on these sheets
He knew that he was a soldier in a losing war
And his return to those who love him was unsure

His futile fight to save a city block by block
Resulted one night in that tragic knock
His friends sadly called upon his loving wife
With a tearful message of how he lost his life

One last time his brothers gave him praise
But only half way up Old Glory did they raise
And in the end the bugler played his solemn tune
With prayers that his soul will enter soon

God bless you, brave warrior!

Private citizen
U. S. A.
October 17, 2004

I thank you for your service and salute you for your sacrifice.

A grateful citizen.

September 22, 2004

On August 9, 1973, I was an undercover Hialeah, Florida police officer making an undercover buy in North Miami Beach. At 9:31 PM the buy went bad and I found myself immediately involved in a fatal gunfight. At the same time, Special Agent Benitez was shot and killed only a few miles away when his undercover buy went bad in Broward County. The shot that saved my life was a one in a million when my first shot hit my assailants gun and jammed his hammer on the downfall. To the best of my memory, Special Agent Benitez was killed by a .25 automatic, a caliber that shouldn't have inflicted a fatal wound under the circumstances of his shootout. I attended Special Agent Benitez's memorial services and even though I never knew him in life, having shared that immortal moment with him, for the past almost thirty years have felt that he must have been the closest person to me on the face of the earth.

He will always be in my memory.

Chief of Police Dick Jurkowski
Retired