(Photo credit to Harold Bernstein, Connecticut Police Chief's Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation Volunteer Photographer)
SOUTHINGTON - Chief State’s Attorney Patrick J. Griffin delivered the keynote address at the September 24, 2025, Connecticut Police Chiefs’ Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation dinner, held in honor of the memory of officers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.
The annual event, attended by law enforcement leaders, public officials, and families of fallen officers, served as a solemn reminder of the courage and commitment of Connecticut’s law enforcement community. Chief State’s Attorney Griffin praised the bravery of those who serve and emphasized the importance of remembering those who gave their lives to protect others.
“We gather not only to remember, but to reaffirm our commitment to justice, service, and the enduring legacy of those we have lost,” Chief State’s Attorney Griffin said to the hundreds gathered at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington. “Their sacrifice is a solemn call to all of us to uphold the values they lived and died for.”
The dinner, hosted by the Connecticut Police Chiefs Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation, is a cornerstone event in the state’s law enforcement calendar. It supports the foundation’s mission to maintain the Law Enforcement Memorial in Meriden and to provide support to the families of fallen officers.
Chief State’s Attorney Griffin’s speech highlighted the deep bond shared among members of the law enforcement community and the critical role public trust plays in their mission. He also acknowledged the challenges officers face daily and the strength required to serve with integrity and compassion. He spoke about the experience of attending funerals for law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty.
He described the funerals as moments that leave a lasting impact - not just on the families and colleagues of the fallen, but on the entire law enforcement community. He emphasized the powerful symbolism of these services, noting the sea of uniforms, the bagpipes, and the final radio call, all of which underscore the gravity of the sacrifice made.
Chief State's Attorney Patrick J. Griffin
“If you’ve ever been to a police funeral, you know it’s something you never forget,” he said. “You see the rows of officers standing at attention, the flag-draped casket, the sound of taps. It’s a reminder of the price that’s paid for our safety.”
Griffin recalled a moment from the funeral services for two Bristol police officers killed in the line of duty - Lt. Dustin DeMonte and Sgt. Alex Hamzy. – held in 2022 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford that he said, “remains in his heart.” Looking across the stadium that day, Chief State’s Attorney Griffin eyed a group of police cadets from various academies across the state.
“You could pick them out of the crowd,” he said. “They wore ill-fitting khaki uniforms with blue baseball caps pulled low over their heads. They wore no badges and carried no guns. They came to honor men they did not know from a profession they had yet to fully join. One group carried a guidon with the motto: “This We’ll Defend,” next to a picture of the statue of Lady Justice. I wondered then what was going through their minds. Would they quit and decide to do something, anything else with their lives?”
Weeks later, Chief State’s Attorney Griffin spoke to the same group at their graduation from the police academy.
“I watched as the cadets, their khaki uniforms now replaced with crisp, blue uniforms, march in and receive their badges,” he said. “These men and women were under no illusion as to the ultimate price that wearing that badge might exact.”
Retired Watertown Chief of Police John Gavallas, Chairman of the Connecticut Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation, retired Norwalk Police Department Officer William Curwen, Vice Chairman of the Connecticut Police Chiefs’ Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation and Chief State's Attorney Patrick J. Griffin
In closing, Chief State’s Attorney Griffin acknowledged the emotional toll of deaths in the line of duty, especially on fellow officers who continue to serve. He urged the audience to carry forward the memory of the fallen not just in ceremony, but in daily service.
“We owe it to them to live up to the ideals they stood for - to serve with honor, to protect with courage, and to never forget,” he said.
Retired Norwalk Police Department Officer William Curwen who serves as vice chairman of the Connecticut Police Chiefs’ Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation, served as Master of Ceremonies for the September 24 dinner.
Others who spoke at the dinner included State Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner Ronnell A. Higgins, Connecticut State Police Colonel Loughman and Maria Weinberger, niece of Plainville Police Department Officer Robert Holcomb who was killed in the line of duty on November 21, 1977.