Nye County honors fallen law enforcement officers

Nye County’s eight fallen law enforcement officers through the years are being honored with a memorial unveiled in Pahrump.

The Nye County Sheriff’s Office and members of the community gathered Wednesday at the Ian Deutch Government Complex for the first candlelight memorial ceremony in remembrance of the county’s law enforcement officers who lost their lives in the line of duty.

The participants bowed their heads in prayer at the beginning of the event before officials unveiled a stone where the names of each officer were engraved and laid flowers next to it.

The keynote speaker, Randy Sutton, a retired Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department lieutenant and a spokesman for Blue Lives Matter, talked about his career in law enforcement that spanned 33 years.

Sutton said he still remembers the day when he learned about the death of Deputy Sheriff Ian Deutch, the last Nye County officer who died in the line of duty while responding to a service call on April 26, 2010.

“I remember the devastation that I felt inside. While I’ve never met Ian, I felt like I knew him from his friend, and that bond has always lingered for all these years,” Sutton said.

Sheriff Wehrly

Sutton and Nye County Sheriff Sharon Wehrly also talked about their recent trips to Washington, D.C. where they attended National Police Week ceremonies, an annual event that brings law enforcement agencies from across the nation to honor officers who have died in the line of duty.

“That big monument in Washington, D.C. with all those thousands of names is no more important than this (one) right here,” Sutton said about Nye County’s monument. “The names that are engraved in this stone are part of the hardened soul of Nye County and the people beside you.”

“The reason we are gathered today is because of duty, because of honor and because of love. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate it than being together on an evening like this,” he added.

Wehrly said while she was in Washington, D.C. with the Nye County Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard, they were able to locate the names of all Nye County’s fallen officers on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and pay respects to them.

“Being a law enforcement officer is one of the most thankless jobs, but one of the most rewarding and inspiring jobs anyone can perform,” she said.

Wehrly said she, along with her command staff, are in the process of also having memorial stones placed at the sheriff’s offices in Beatty and Tonopah. She said she paid for all three stones with her personal funds.

Nye County lost its first law enforcement officer in 1867, just three years after the county sheriff’s office was established. Nye County has lost seven officers in the line of duty since then.

“No matter when they died, they gave their lives so that others might be safe in their endeavors,” Wehrly said.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed an executive order designating May 15 as Peace Officers’ Memorial Day, and the week in which May 15 falls as National Police Week.

Contact reporter Daria Sokolova at dsokolova@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @dariasokolova77