Deputy Sheriff Carl L. Darling, Jr.

30 years have passed..... and yet it is burned into my memory like it occurred just yesterday. I will never forget your family. i will never forget your sense of humor. I will never forget your stopping by the office to show me the new suit you had just purchased to wear to court that week on a case we were prosecuting. And, I will never forget receiving that nightmarish phone call informing me of the discovery of your patrol car in an adjoining county. My Investigator Jerry Boerema wrote the following tribute to Carl after his murder.

'A Fallen Brother'
In memory of Deputy Carl L. Darling
Slain May 3, 1986

He stood proud and tall,
when he put on the brown.
He was like a rookie,
trying to protect the people.
What he lacked in stature,
he made up in integrity.
Not many Police Officers
could match the ability
of this young Veteran
dressed in brown.

He stood for what all good cops do;
Pride, Integrity, and Professionalism,
and he carried them well.
In less than four short years,
he did more than most do in twenty.
He did it with that same
Pride, Integrity and Professionalism.

Then on one routine night,
typical of most northern nights,
it ended..... With a bullet.
Something we never expect
will happen to us,
yet, something we all fear.

Some call him just another cop,
we call him a Fallen Brother.
The star he wore seems to weep,
bend somewhat down,
in memory of this Fallen Brother,
Who will rise again
to stand proud and tall.

Jerry W. Boerema
Investigator
Otsego County Prosecutor's Office
Lodge 175

....until we meet again Carl, until we meet again.

Honorable Norman R Hayes
Probate Court Judge

May 5, 2016