Editors note: Sadly since we went to print with this story on Dec. 6, tragically seven more officers have died in the line of duty and there are now 118 ornaments on the tree.
Emergency service dispatchers at the Paris Police Department are again remembering and honoring those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty this Christmas.
For many years, dispatchers at the police department would decorate their Christmas tree with crime scene tape, a hat, and handcuffs, However, after the tragic events in Dallas in 2016 that claimed the lives of six officers, the team came up with a new idea to honor those fallen officers.
“Many of our dispatchers are married to officers, and a lot of us watched what happened in Dallas live on TV. It changed the season when we put up the tree that year,” said dispatcher Kelly Bangs. “We know the sacrifices these officers make and the risk they take every time they walk out the door.”
Now, clear ornaments adorn a six-foot-tall Christmas tree that is placed in the hallway where patrol officers enter and exit. Inside those ornaments are the names of 111 men and women who have died in the line of duty in 2019.
“Sadly, before the year is over, that number will grow. When we put up the tree several weeks ago, there were only 105 ornaments, but today there are 111.”
Bangs said it’s not a happy tree but a reminder of the sacrifices they make each day.
“Each time, both dispatchers and officers see the tree, it makes us pause and remember. We think and pray for those families who won’t get to spend Christmas with their loved one this year,” said Bangs.
Last year the tree was put up in the dispatch control room; however, this year, Bangs said the team agreed they want to put it where everyone can see it.
“It’s a sober tree, but it’s in remembrance. It will forever be different for the families, and I think a lot of people don’t realize that,” said Bangs of the tree that takes several hours to set up each year.
But taking the time to write each name in remembrance is an honor for the dispatch team.
Paris Chief of Police Bob Hundley said, “There is not a time of the year in which you think more of your friends, co-workers, and family than the Christmas season. Police officers consider anyone in the business as family; it doesn’t make much difference as to what uniform or badge they wear; we are all involved in a noble and much-needed profession.”
According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, there have also been 24 K9 deaths on top of the 111 officers, and of those officers, 12 of them were in the state of Texas.
A number that is way too high.
“We shake our heads when we see people in this business do questionable and wrong things, and we hurt when someone doing the job is lost. What this tree does for me and I think many of our officers is to provide a real symbol of those who have paid the ultimate price, and we honor their sacrifice by continuing on and doing the right thing,” he added.
