The Law Enforcement Memorial stands in the foreground of the Limestone County Courthouse.

Nine names etched in a stone monument on the Limestone County Courthouse lawn provide a reminder of the law enforcement officers in the Athens-Limestone community who died in the line of duty.

The names represent Athens Police officers, Limestone County Sheriff’s deputies and Alabama state troopers. Their stories vary from being approached while sitting in a car to responding to a 911 call for help to attempting to make an arrest for robbery.

“It is fitting their names are displayed in downtown Athens at the courthouse, in the heart of the community they died serving,” APD Chief Floyd Johnson said.

APD will host a public candlelight memorial to honor the nine officers on the end-of-watch list starting 8 p.m. Thursday. The event will be on the west side of the courthouse by the monument, and the courthouse will be lighted in blue for the occasion.

The event is part of National Police Week and National Peace Officers Memorial Day. Representatives from APD, the Athens Mayor’s Office and Limestone County Commission will speak briefly during the memorial.

“These officers still have family in our community, and it is important that we show them their loved ones’ sacrifices are not forgotten,” Athens Mayor Ronnie Marks said.

May 15 has been celebrated as National Peace Officers Memorial Day since 1962, and the calendar week in which it falls is celebrated as National Police Week. Established by a joint resolution of Congress and proclaimed by President John F. Kennedy, the week aims to recognize law enforcement officers who lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others.

Limestone End of Watch

The following officers died in the line of duty in Limestone County:

• Chief Deputy James Henry Eubank, LCSO, June 1918 — Eubank was shot and killed by a suspect while he searched a house for weapons;

• Bedford F. Brackeen, APD, March 1941 — Brackeen was sitting in a patrol car with his partner at a bus stop on Clinton Street when a man approached their car and began arguing with the officers. He then pulled out a revolver and opened fire. Brackeen was shot three times but still attempted to chase the subject before dying;

• Billy Daly, APD, December 1964 — Daly was on his police motorcycle when he was struck by a vehicle at the intersection of U.S. 31 and Forrest Street. He had been with APD for two years;

• Lt. Benton McLemore, APD, March 1969 — McLemore was shot and killed by a suspect during a welfare check. The suspect killed himself before he could be arrested;

• David E. Temple, ALEA, September 1979 — Temple was shot and killed while attempting to arrest a robbery suspect. The suspect shot Temple from their vehicle, then walked to where Temple lay on the ground and shot him several more times;

• Simmie L. Jefferies, ALEA, December 1984 — Jeffries died in an automobile accident involving his patrol car and a tractor-trailer in Limestone County;

• Dewey Wayne Dorsey Sr., APD, February 1989 — Dorsey died from a blood clot that developed after he was injured in an automobile accident. He had been transporting blood to Athens-Limestone Hospital when the accident occurred; and

• Tony Mims and Sgt. Larry Wayne Russell, APD, January 2004 — Russell and Mims responded to a 911 call made by a man with a history of mental illness. When the officers pulled into the man’s driveway, he opened fire, killing them.