The memorial will be built at 601 W. Riverview Ave. and the association plans to break ground on the project in the next six months.
“This has been a long time coming,” Porter said. “This memorial is unique because it represents all of Montgomery County. There are 40 officers at this time that it will represent.”
He said the memorial will honor officers dating back as far as 1880 as well as the latest officer killed in the line of duty in Montgomery County, Detective Jorge DelRio.
Porter said the association accepted about 50 ideas for the memorial and wanted to be sure that it was accessible to the general public and was centrally located in the county.
“The land itself sits on a small hillside overlooking the river,” Porter said. “We especially wanted it to be around the river because the river represents what we call the water of life. The rivers and creeks reach out to all the different communities.”
Porter said the memorial will have an eight-foot wall that is curved which faces the river. In front of the wall will be five spires that will rise about 20 to 30 feet. The spires will be shaped in a woven stainless steel pattern and will also form a star at the base.
“The star is the symbol of law enforcement from dating way back when,” the chief said.
The names of the fallen officers will be on the wall, Porter said. There will be room to add additional names because “unfortunately, I don’t think we can ever prevent any other officer from dying in the line of duty,” he said.
“We want to be sure this is a nice reflection area where people can come and sit and remember what the officers represent,” he said. “One of the things we did not want was another cemetery. We wanted it to be very inspiring.”
Porter said the association has raised about a quarter of what it needs to build the memorial. On Oct. 16, a concert and event in West Carrollton will take place to help raise money. Rockin the River will include music from a Journey Tribute Band, a flag skydive performance and fireworks.
The event will include food trucks, a bourbon and cigar area and beer area. All of the proceeds will benefit the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Memorial.
More information about the concert can be found at https://dillincorp.com/rockin/ and more information on the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Memorial Association can be found at https://www.mcmemorial.com/.
Also, on Monday at 11 a.m., the annual memorial ceremony at the Riverscape Pavillion on the corner of Patterson Road and Monument Avenue will take place. The event will start with the officers parading from Temple Israel to Riverscape. During the ceremony, a roll call of the fallen officers will be read along with the announcement of scholarship recipients.
Fundraising event planned
What is it: Rockin the River
When: 6 p.m. Oct. 16
Where: 5641 Marina Drive, West Carrollton
Cost: $5 until Oct. 9. $10 starting Oct. 10
How to buy tickets: https://dillincorp.com/rockin/
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