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SALT LAKE CITY — At her husband's funeral, Erika Barney told Utah's law enforcement community that they are a "weird" group.
On Thursday, right before Barney placed a bronze plaque bearing her husband's name — Unified police officer Doug Barney — on the wall of the Utah Law Enforcement Memorial, Erika Barney again reaffirmed with tongue in cheek that police officers are weird.
But underneath their quirky characteristics are unsung heroes who never seek credit for putting their lives on the line every day, and most of the time don't even realize they work among other heroes.
"There might be a few officers out there who have a little bit of cynicism. There's definitely sort of a dark humor that runs through the departments that helps them cope. But there's also a selflessness and a courage I think they take for granted. I think a lot of law enforcement stop seeing it because they're constantly surrounded by others who are also courageous.
"But they're willing to run into places that other people are running out of. And they're willing to stand up and protect the defenseless and to see the things that no one wants to see," the widow of Doug Barney said.
In January, the 18-year veteran of the Unified Police Department was shot and killed while responding to a traffic accident.
Barney's name was among two added Thursday to the Utah Law Enforcement Memorial on the grounds of the Utah State Capitol during the annual event.
The other name was Box Elder County sheriff's deputy Leon Albert May, who drowned in April of 1953 while conducting a search and rescue operation on the Bear River. May's name was recently discovered by Robert Kirby, a member of the Utah Law Enforcement Memorial Committee who routinely goes through old newspaper articles from across the state to make sure no officer is forgotten.
Box Elder County Sheriff Kevin Potter thanked Kirby on Thursday for not letting May fall through the cracks.
Potter seemed to get emotional and took long pauses as he talked about how he wished May could have gone through his career and retired an unsung hero with no one remembering his name.
"The reality is law enforcement officers die in the line of duty. And when they do, they're no longer unsung heroes, they're just heroes that deserve to be on this wall to be remembered, forever," he said.
Erika Barney also admitted that Thursday's ceremony was "a little bit more emotional for me than I thought it would be."
But as she thought about what her husband's legacy will be and how her grandchildren will remember him, she talked about all the wonderful mementos and gifts her family has received over the past few months.
"And then there's this wall where his name will remain forever and these memorial services annually to bring them to so they can see how the community won't forget, and how the community appreciates his sacrifice," she said. "To me, he was a hero in the way he lived his life and in the way that he died."
Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder also talked about officers who make the ultimate sacrifice and the reason they gather each year at the memorial.
"The purpose is for us to move ahead, to persevere, to make sure these sacrifices were not in vain. To recognize what these men and women did, they voluntarily went into a battle, yes, a battle to some extent of good and evil, but really the protection of their loved ones, a way of life, a country, a community, a society. They were willing to go in everyday not knowing if they would live or die either," Winder said.
The sheriff said while his words will be forgotten in the coming years, the deeds of the names of those on the wall will not.
"And their expectation, I think, is not to come here and sorrow and grieve and pity, but to come here and simply say, 'Thank you.' And more importantly, 'We will make sure that what you did results in greater things. We will move forward. We will persevere,'" Winder said.
Several nieces of May were also in attendance at Thursday's ceremony.
After each family placed their loved one's plaque on the wall, the ceremony ended with Taps, a 21-gun salute, the posthumous presentation of the two officers' Purple Hearts to the families, and quilts made by the Utah Quilt Guild to the families, which has also become a tradition.
