Police, family members honor fallen officers at Cape ceremony

Karla Drury of Cape Girardeau was only 8 years old when her uncle, a New Madrid County deputy, was killed in the line of duty, but it's a day, even more than 50 years later, she'll likely never forget.

"Of course my mom was his sister. I remember her crying and asking, 'What's wrong?'" Drury said.

Her uncle, Cleatus Phillips, was shot and killed while working for the department Sept. 12, 1960. Phillips and 46 other Southeast Missouri officers killed in the line of duty were honored Friday in a memorial ceremony sponsored by Seniors and Law Enforcement Together at Cape County Park.

Doug Austin, SALT secretary, said the ceremony is not only to honor the fallen officers but to remind their families they're not forgotten.

Drury said she found out about the memorial about a year ago and was pleasantly surprised that her uncle's name was on the sculpture.

"I think this is fabulous. It's a real honor to have them remembered after so many years," she said.

Before the Rev. John Harth of Immaculate Conception read each of the deceased's names, Cape Girardeau County Sheriff John Jordan, the event's keynote speaker, asked the crowd to imagine an officer's last morning with his or her family. The officer drives his children to school and promises his wife he'll be home on time, not forgetting to say "I love you" before going to the police station. And moments before he's killed by a man fixing his own tire on the side of the road, the officer asks "Can I help you?"

"The words he used are what count when it comes to being a public servant," he said. "These men, they've all said to their communities, 'I love you' and 'Can I help you?'"

ehevern@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

2289 County Park Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO