Middlesex County unveiled its memorial to fallen law enforcement officers Thursday afternoon at the police training center in Edison, with the names of 27 officers who have given their lives in the line of duty since 1856 located in full-color mural on a wall in the main hallway.
EDISON -- For Roberta McGilvery, the ceremony unveiling a new memorial honoring law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in Middlesex County since 1856 was special.
McGilvery's husband, Richard, a police office with the Rutgers University Police Department, was killed in 1978.
"As time goes by, you always get the feeling that people forget," she said Thursday afternoon as the memorial was unveiled at the Middlesex County Police Training Center in Edison. "It's a great feeling to know he'll always be remembered."
Richard McGilvery is one of 27 officers whose names are on the wall, called "Remember The Fallen."
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The full-color mural is located along the main corridor of the building. The area with the plaques, which includes the name and agency of each officer and the dates they died, is called, "Final Roll Call."
At the bottom of the mural is the phrase, "We Will Never Forget."
Police officers from throughout the county filled the main meeting room in the building for the unveiling ceremony.
About a dozen other family members of the fallen officers also attended the ceremony.
Edison Police Chief Thomas Bryan pointed to the name of Officer Michael Dudash, who was killed in a motorcycle accident, on the memorial.
"He was a motorcycle officer," Bryan said. "The Dudashes are fourth generation police officers in Edison. Robert Dudash is currently on our department."
The chief said of the memorial, "I think this is a good thing to honor him (Michael) and all of the others."
Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey was the keynote speaker at the ceremony.
"Being a police officer is not an easy job," Carey said. "And it gets more challenging as time goes on. A police officer is expected to be a doctor, a social worker, a law enforcement officer, and all of that when something has failed and someone calls 911. These are men and women who run towards danger, not away from it."
He and South River Police Chief Mark Tinitigan, who serves as president of the Middlesex County Chiefs of Police Association, said they hope no one has to add any more names to the memorial.
"Twenty-seven is a significant number," Tinitigan said. "I hope it never increases. I hope this memorial serves to give the families of (of the fallen officers) solace.
The 27 names include members of the NJ State Police, Middlesex County Sheriff's Department, Rutgers University Police Department, municipal police departments, and the NJ Juvenile Justice Commission.
The Middlesex County prosecutor's office released a list of all the officers honored Thursday:
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