Cook County unveils tribute to fallen officers

"Today, we honor our fallen."

With those words, Cook County sheriff's police investigator Jeff Lange commenced Monday's memorial dedication ceremony honoring eight Cook County sheriff's police officers who demonstrated that public service does not come without sacrifice.

Officers Sam F. Kaiser, Frederick C. Bryant, Meyer Joseph (Jack) LaPine, Robert (Ruby) Schanbaum, Frank J. Christian, John A. Rusnak, James F. Knapp and Michael W. Ridges, who was shot and killed during a 1985 traffic stop in Prospect Heights, made the ultimate sacrifice.

Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart, Chief of Police DeWayne Holbrook and law enforcement officers from around the state gathered at River Grove's Triton College to honor their colleagues slain in the line of duty.

The thundering sound of bagpipes, courtesy of Chicago's Pipe and Drums of the Emerald Society, ushered in an Honor Guard whose presentation of colors heralded the start of the somber, hourlong ceremony attended by relatives of the slain officers.

They included Ridges' widow, Sharon Woodcock, who described the ceremony as "a beautiful tribute to the fallen officers."

"There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of him. He's in my prayers every day," said Woodcock of her husband, who was murdered 25 years ago this October when he stopped three suspicious men for a traffic violation.

One of the men, investigators say, was headed to a contract killing. The killer eventually received life in prison, and another of the men was sentenced to 40 years.

"He gave his life for what he loved to do," Woodcock said.

The fallen officers "put the interest of our community above their own," Dart said in his keynote speech.

Referring to Ridges' murder, he said most people think a routine traffic stop is trivial. It's not, he said, adding that walking up to a car and not knowing who's inside is "one of the most dangerous things imaginable."

"Each and every day, you're putting your life on the line for someone else," he said.

"We want this to be a lasting memorial, a lasting memorial that is never added to," Dart said as a screen rose to reveal a large, glass-enclosed, cherrywood case, topped by black and purple bunting and containing eight plaques with the images of the officers, their silver star, the day they joined the department and the day their watch ended.

The ceremony included a brief history of the Cook County sheriff's police, established in 1831 and becoming known as the Cook County Highway Police. By 1922, the department included 12 motorcycle officers patrolling county roadways, Lange said. Officers like Kaiser, Bryant and LaPine who served during the 1920s and 30s were essentially volunteers, receiving a stipend for their uniform and upkeep of their motorcycle, Lange said.

Today, the department ranks as the state's third largest police department, with 500 officers patrolling 72 square miles and protecting more than 100,000 residents, Lange said.

Relatives of the officers hugged as Chief Holbrook gave the final roll call, which concluded with the distribution of folded flags and stars to family members. Present for the ceremony was a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois named Ridges, a member of the sheriff's K-9 unit who was named for Michael Ridges.

"This is the moment we have chosen to celebrate life and those we have lost," Holbrook said. "The gift they shared as police officers will live in our hearts and in the department they helped create."

The memorial will stand at the sheriff's police headquarters in Maywood.

Glendale Heights resident Deborah Mostowski represented Kaiser, the great uncle she never knew, whom her mother - Kaiser's niece - described as "the family hero."

Because Kaiser was unmarried and had no children, the family had a hard time finding photographs of him, Mostowski said. A cousin eventually uncovered one in an old photograph album.

Although many of her surviving family members didn't know Kaiser, Mostowski says they all take pride in his service.

"I think it takes a special person to do that job," she said.

Ultimately, the job of a sheriff's police officer is to protect the public, Holbrook said. Each one understands that any day might be his or her last. But, adds Holbrook, they and their families also know, "that we will not forget them."