Greenville/Butler County Law Enforcement Honored at Annual Memorial

All Butler County Sheriff’s Deputies and Greenville Police Officers were honored at the annual Law Enforcement Memorial Service Wednesday afternoon.

The service has been going on for nearly two decades and honors all law enforcement, whether they are alive and working or they died while serving the community. This year the Fort Dale Academy fourth grade class came to perform a song to honor the officers. The guest speaker was Attorney General Steve Marshall, who spoke about thanking the officers for the work they do every day.

“We don’t take the time to thank law enforcement for their service. In some ways we take them for granted, we see them driving around, we know what they do, but yet very few times do we take a moment to just pause to be able to say thank you,” he said. “So that was from me to a group of fourth graders, who are going to grow up and be adults one day, to make sure they understand the importance of just simply being able to appreciation for service and for sacrifice.”

The officers said just seeing the room full of people who support them is thank you enough.

“Their real reward is just being recognized, even if it’s just a minor thing, someone saying something to you in passing on the street,” said Greenville Police Chief Justin Lovvorn. “But when you come in to a place like this and you have so many people in here at once and everyone is putting the focus on them, it makes them uncomfortable, but in the end, I promise it makes them feel better too. To know that they’re appreciated, it’s more than words can say what this does for the officers and everyone here.”

Several awards were also given out at the memorial service, including the 2016 Officer of the Year. That honor went to Officer Josh Womack with the Greenville Police Department.