From Harford County Sheriff L. Jesse Bane:
To the Citizens of Harford County,
Each year, during the first two weeks in May, we honor Correctional and Law Enforcement officers. As National Police Week 2013 comes to a close, I wanted to share my deep gratitude to the 421 sworn law enforcement and correctional deputies of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office.
For more than 50 years, the nation has recognized May 15th as Peace Officers’ Memorial Day. While each year, and each ceremony, is difficult to attend, the heaviness of this year was unmatched. I remember no other time, when a Sheriff or Chief honored three fallen heroes in one year. The memories of Sgt. Ian Loughran, Cpl. Charlie Licato, and DFC Teresa Testerman were burning brightly these past few weeks. All three were honored at Maryland Fallen Heroes Day, Cpl. Licato’s name was added to the Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, and both Cpl. Licato and DFC Testerman were honored at the Memorial Service. Now, it is our job to keep their memory alive, as well as the memory of all those who gave their lives in years past.
I am immensely proud of the men and women of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office. We have struggled to overcome adversity together. We have leaned on each other in times of hardship and celebrated together in times of happiness. Their unyielding dedication to this agency and each other overwhelms me. During these weeks they have traveled to numerous memorials, bicycled countless miles in the Police Unity Tour, attended banquets and events, carried the grief of our office, and celebrated the lives of those lost.
I am honored to be your Sheriff and to lead these extraordinary individuals. In return, I ask one favor; as you go about your day to day life, remember those that risk it all to protect others. For we are more than two weeks in May – we are 365 days a year; we are 24 hours a day. We are the men and women of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office.
Respectfully,
Sheriff L. Jesse Bane
The first time we hear from Jesse Bane in weeks and it’s just for political points?
I get the sentiment, but I guess his memory is pretty short. It wasn’t that long ago when 4 Lakewood PD (WA) officers were murdered in a coffee shop by someone who should’ve still be in prison on the other side of the country.
@Glen,
You are too hard on Jesse Bane, he can’t remember a time that wasn’t 5 minutes ago. God bless Harford County fallen officers, but unlike Jesse, lets not forget all the fallen including the 60 NYPD and New York Authority police officers killed one one day in the 911 attacks.
Bane has been caught exaggerating stats and even outright making stuff up time and time again, but now to say something so disrespectful to all the other law enforcement families. I am not sure if he is grandstanding and saying dumb things for the votes or if the man is just senile. Either way he is just an embarrassment at this point.
While I’m glad Bane finally came out in support of the Law Enforcement Officer who have died in the line of duty. I’m glad he appreciated their service. HOWEVER, it is also important to appreciate them while they are still alive, and not only when they sacrificed their lives. He needs to support the current deputies and not look for ways to under mind them and belittle them every chance he gets
About time Jesse’s minions told him to react. I’m sure he’ll try to take credit for being the first sheriff to post letters on social media, even though Mr. Gahler’s been doing it for 2 years. But, you say, Mr. Gahler isn’t sheriff. Now you see how Jesse puts his own spin on things to make himself look good. RIP my fallen comrades, which is heartfelt and not because someone told me to write it.
Sheriff Bane says “Their unyielding dedication to this agency and each other overwhelms me.” I always knew that the Sheriff was overwhelmed, but I didn’t know it was the fault of the Deputies.
Nice little letter however I was in DC last week and saw Chiefs/Sheriffs from across the country there. Bane couldn’t be bothered to travel 1.5 hours to make an appearance when these other law enforcement executives somehow were able to make the much longer journey to remember and honor the fallen from their agency and from across the country. But hey, that’s par for the course for Jesse anymore and isn’t surprising.
It is good to see our fallen Brothers and Sister remembered in DC. It would be nice to see some type of Memorial built for the fallen from Officer Pyle to Sgt. Ian Loughran here in Harford County. This should also include members from the EMS service also. Just a thought.