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Wreath laying ceremony honors fallen Virginia public safety officials

Posted at 11:05 PM, Jun 02, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-02 23:11:10-04

RICHMOND, Va. -- A wreath-laying ceremony was held Friday evening at the Virginia Public Safety Memorial on Capitol Square. The annual tradition pays tribute to police officers, firefighters, and other public safety officials who died in the line of duty in Virginia.

The event honored five public safety officials including VSP Trooper Chad Dermyer who was murdered during a training exercise at the Richmond Greyhound Bus Station on March 31, 2016.

The full list of honorees include:

Robert C. Baber, Fire Chief
Crozet Volunteer Fire Department

Chad P. Dermyer, Trooper
Virginia State Police

Timothy M. Killian, Jr., Master Firefighter-Paramedic
James City County Fire Department

David L. Sprouse, Assistant Foreman
City of Charlottesville Fire Department

Louis P. Stark, Battalion Chief
City of Newport News Fire Department

All five honorees had their names engraved on the Memorial Wall in the past year.

The ceremony also recognized VSP Special Agent Mike Walter and Eagle Rock Firefighter Roger Johns, who died in the line of duty in May.

The memorial featured an emotional performance of "America the Beautiful" by a Richmond police officer. You can watch video of that performance above.