Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

YOU ARE REMEMBERED TODAY AND THANK YOU SIR FOR YOUR SERVICE

Pat Van Den Berghe, Manchester, NH
Neighbors for a Better Manchester, NH

January 15, 2008

"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

September 25, 2007

I came across your photo displayed as I signed onto ODMP and wanted to visit your page to leave a reflection as you are one of the more than 17,000 heroes located at this site. I know the pain your mother feels every day when she awakes and the silent tears that still flow from her broken heart. The tears fall as you are loved and missed beyond words. Continue to keep watch over your loved ones, visit them in their dreams to let them know you are near. I'd like to end with a poem to be left on your page as you are a true hero and heroes never die. You will never be forgotten.

No person is ever truly alone.
Those who live no more,
Whom we loved,
Echo still within our thoughts,
Our words, our hearts.
And what they did,
And who they were,
Becomes a part of all that we are,
Forever.

by Richard Fife

Bob Gordon
Father of Michael P. Gordon, EOW: 8/8/04

July 25, 2007

Happy birthday son. Need I say you are still sorely missed. Eight years doesn't make it easier, it does make me prouder....of you....a true hero....and of your brother and sister, what a team you guys were!!!!! I can still hear your laughter!

I love you.
Mom

Carol Aselton Benoit
Mother of Officer Aselton

July 16, 2007

Brian, I wish I knew you. According to all of your fellow brother and sister officers, you were a class act. I just want you to know that guys like you make it easier for me to put on the uniform everyday. As an East Hartford resident I think of you every time I go by the PD. Usually I am in uniform myself on the way to work...and I cross myself. I am not a religious person really...but I know that as long as I wear the 251 pin and say a prayer before each shift, you will help guide me home at the end of the night to my own family. Rest in peace brother and make sure you keep heaven safe for us. See you soon.

"My guardian angel, once careless and free,
flew into the clouds and lost touch with me.
His tears were cold and wet, falling on my face.
His smile had left us without a trace.

His angelic lips quivered, frozen and scared,
I felt rain clouds visiting, and had to prepare.
I knew that angels, often content,
were very special presents that God had sent.

To see one so sad,
so afraid,
so alone,
had made me weep while the cold winds had blown.

His wings lost feathers,
comforting and soft,
falling from the stars,
floating aloft.

His pain was felt throughout the land,
to feel true misery is impossible to stand.
I prayed so that when his hurting stops,
I'll be able to taste the angel's teardrops."

Officer Michael Hicks
Coventry Police Dept. - Coventry, CT

February 12, 2007

IT HAS BEEN 7 YEARS SINCE PATROLMAN ASELTON'S DEATH. I KNOW THAT IT SEEMS LIKE ONLY YESTERDAY TO HIS FAMILY. WHEN THE ANNIVERSARY DRAWS NEAR, YOU START THINKING OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING THE DAYS BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE INCIDENT. THE LAST TIME YOU SAW HIM, TALKED WITH HIM AND THERE ARE MANY TIMES WHEN YOU THINK OF "WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN". YOU THINK OF WHAT HIS LIFE WOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE, WHAT HE COULD HAVE ACCOMPLISHED. BUT IT WAS CUT SHORT BECAUSE OF SOMEONE ELSE'S CHOICE. NOW WE HAVE THE MEMORIES AND WE HANG ON TO THEM, WE NEVER WANT TO FORGET OUR HERO'S.
TO HIS FAMILY, FRIENDS AND CO-WORKERS, HE WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN. HE TRULY WAS A HERO!
GOD BLESS.

LORRAINE BOND (MOTHER)
HAMILTON COUNTY TN. DEPUTY SHERIFF:
DONALD K. BOND, JR.
EOW: 09.06.01

January 23, 2007

One of the blessings of this website is that fellow officers can learn about and reflect on those we lost. For some of us who have been in this job for awhile, it is a reminder of how quickly a "routine" call can be the most dangerous. Thank you for your service, continue to watch over me and my fellow officers. You may be lost but you will NEVER be forgotten.

Ofc Miller
Police Officer

January 23, 2007

You are still sorely missed, my son, my hero.

Love you much,
Mom

Carol Aselton Benoit
Mother

January 17, 2007

251, I was 18 years old that fateful night my home town of East Hartford lost one of it's warriors. When I was kid I wanted to be an officer but as I got older I lost sight of that dream. The night you were taken from us, I got back on track and remembered why I wanted to be an officer in the first place. I'm a cop in Jersey now. You are a true hero, please watch over those of us still on the job and God bless your family and friends. 76 Out.

PTL J Blaze #76
Fort Dix PD

January 13, 2007

NEVER forgotten.

Joanie
Mother, daughter, sister, and granddau. of LEOs

January 9, 2007

How do you say "than you" to a man you never met?
Officer Brian Aselton, Sir (and I say that with the utmost respect)I will someday share the story of a great man that served the people of his community.
I am not a fellow officer, I am A citizen of East Hartford Ct.( The community that officer Aselton protected over). I am a single father of two young children and I clearly remember the news report in which they announced that a local police officer had been shot to death on a routine call.
It was a story that brought a lump to my throat, an officer of the law dispatched to protect people like myself that rely on the police to be the "knight in shining armor".
Well on that night it was Officer Aselton's call to answer and in the course of doing what seemed routine he was shot by a .....well I'm not gonna say what I'm really thinking ,but you get the idea.
I remember the funeral televised on television and trying to hide the tears in my eyes from my family.
I never new you Brian, but from one of the families you helped to protect.....All my Respect and Gratitude, Sir.



Thank You from An East Hartford Citizen (and Sir, When I drive on I-84 every day I see your name on the sign that reads "The Brian Aselton Memorial Highway " That same lump still comes to my throat).


THANK YOU AGAIN Sir for the ultimate sacrifice that you made in protection of myself and my neighbors Rest In Peace ,Sir

Edward Landry
East Hartford Resident

December 23, 2006

Brian, may you guide us through our journey and bring us home safe. Rest in peace brother.

255
EHPD

October 28, 2006

You will never be forgotten. God bless you and your family.

Patrol
New Haven Police Dept. CT

October 26, 2006

- Never Forget -

256

October 18, 2006

I did not know Brian personally, but I did recieve a scholarship in his name. I just really want to say thank you because not only is his memory helping me with my future, but it is helping many other college bound kids out there... His memory will be in all of our hearts. Rest in peace..

Javier Rosario
My father's coworker

July 9, 2006

Last Sunday, I rode with you through South Windsor and East Windsor, just like when we were kids. I rode my dirt bike and I thought about all the great times we had doing the same so many years ago. I look back fondly on the times we shared and the memories we made and I look forward to the time when my own kids are old enough to twist a throttle and throw dirt around in the woods, just like we used to do. Your memory keeps those days alive in me, it keeps them very close.

I still miss you.

Chris B. Davis
Friend

June 9, 2006

We have never met ~ yet we are connected...
I visit your page, read about you, and think of you everyday.
I ask myself all the time - do you know how many people truly loved you?
Are you aware of the name you left here - the impression - the memories?
Are you aware of how many you've educated, enlightened, and motivated?
Do you know how many people get together during the year to honor you and celebrate your life? Do you know the tears shed - of happiness and of sorrow?
We have never met ~ yet we are connected...
Your name and your amazing light shines on in those who are here - those who honor you everyday -
Your history, your legacy...your story is told everyday -
Know that no one has forgotten -
Know that no one has stopped -
Know that you are honored...cherished...
We have never met Brian ~ and that makes me sad...but I know how amazing you were and I know that you watch over those who need you...I know that we have met in a different way and I will forever honor you and will forever refer to you as a true Hero...

June 5, 2006

I never had the opportunity to know Brian personally. I became an officer in 1994 and Brian was the first officer in CT killed in the line of duty since i began. I attended his funeral and marched on that cold January morning in the freezing rain and buried a brother. I learned that day what being a cop and brother is all about. I met with Brian's co-workers and family members and learned what a great guy i never got the chance to meet personally. I've been part of your motorcycle rides, and remember you and your family every January. Every May when I and brother officers attend the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial, I take an etching of your panel 26 E-21. Rest in peace brother. You will never be forgotten.

Patrol Officer George Taylor
Westport Police Department CT

November 11, 2005

Brian,
This has been a long time coming. I remember when you were joining the Corps. We both went our seperate ways to serve our country in the Corps. The next thing I heard you had been called to protect the streets of Heaven. Since I retired I to have joined the ranks of law enforcement. I hope that I can be an officer you would be proud of as I was of you being a Marine that joined on my watch. When we meet again, I hope that we can have a fighting hole together for we never leave our own. Be well and Semper Fidelis.

Deputy Specialist
Loudoun County Sheriff's Office

July 18, 2005

Hi Brian,
What a great day your motorcycle run was last weekend. 900 bikes! Just as I won't, so many people miss and will never forget you. Then Wednesday we gave out your scholarships--another great day. Those are my favorite days of the year. My heartache is overshadowed by all that is good. You still have some great friends who help me find my smile. Thanks for being you and being a part of my life. I love you.
Love your sis,
Carolyn

Carolyn A. Aselton

June 11, 2005

I just ran across Brian's page as it flashed up on the homepage of the ODMP. when i started reading the reflections left here, i was brought to tears and instantly reminded of my fiance, Cole. He was very young, too...a few months shy of turning 21 when he was killed. It is obvious that Officer Aselton will never be forgotten. My thoughts and prayers are with all of those he had to leave behind. It is a long, hard road to walk as I have had to learn the hard way. Just know that you are being thought of daily. Thank you, Brian, for making the ultimate sacrifice that you never expected to have to make so early on in your life and career.

Jessi Garger
Fiancee of Cole Martin
Chatsworth P.D., GA
EOW 4.25.03

May 24, 2005

Hi Bri,
Thanks for saying hello last night and for being with us in the courtroom today.
I miss and love you.
Your sis,
C

March 24, 2005

Thank you for serving your community and our nation. May God continue to bless your family.

Patrol Officer
Chesterfield County Police Dept., VA.

January 23, 2005

On behalf of the men and women of the Virginia State Police we extend our condolences to the members of the East Hartford Police department and the family of Officer Brian Aselton. May the family take comfort in knowing that the memory of their loved one lives on in the hearts and minds of so many.

Senior Trooper
Virginia State Police

January 23, 2005

Rest in Peace, Brother. May you have sunny days to guard the streets of heaven. When it thunders, we will know you are riding your HOG and keeping others from harm. Be assured that you will never be forgotten.

Semper Fi!

A Squad
Woodbridge CT PD

January 22, 2005