Lt. William Tapley of the Conway Police Department spoke fondly of his fallen comrade, Officer Will McGary, at Friday's 32nd annual State Peace Officers' Memorial Service. And as he wrapped up his five-minute speech, he echoed words that were repeated by others who took the dais.
"He will not be forgotten," Tapley said of McGary.
McGary died Jan. 21 after being hit by a drunk driver on Dave Ward Road in Conway. He and two other officers were honored at the memorial, held in the state Capitol Rotunda.
The hour-long event honored the memories of the three law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty this year, as well as paying homage to those who have previously died.
The three officers, McGary, Cpl. Barbara Ann Ester and Deputy Terry Wayne Johnson, were remembered individually by representatives of their respective law enforcement agencies in a speech.
Ester was fatally stabbed by an inmate at the East Arkansas Regional Unit in Brickeys on Jan. 20. Johnson, a Sebastian County sheriff's deputy, was killed in a single-vehicle accident while on duty the morning of March 2.
The memorial also featured a color guard as well as acts of remembrance from those in attendance. Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, a former Jonesboro police officer, also spoke to the crowd of around 200.
The ceremony ended with the playing of "Taps" and "Amazing Grace."
Sgt. Allen Hamby, president of the state Lodge Fraternal Order of Police, said after the memorial, that such events remind everyone around law enforcement that they are a family.
"The families come here knowing that the officers around here support them, love them and know what they're going through," he said.