GREENFIELD — Flags waved in the wind above the memorial bearing their names.
Malcolm E. Grass, Dannie R. Garrison and William E. Phillips III.
They died in the line of duty serving and protecting the citizens of Hancock County.
Kerry Grass, whose father, Malcolm Grass, was shot and killed in 1986, stood at a podium not far away.
“When we lose an officer, the wife or husband loses their spouse,” he said. “The children lose a father or mother. Mothers and fathers lose a daughter or son. Fellow officers lose a friend, but we all lose a hero.”
The three law enforcement officers were remembered during a Peace Officers Memorial Day service on Saturday, May 15, outside of the Hancock County Fraternal Order of Police 140 lodge in Greenfield.
End of watch for Malcolm Grass, a captain with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, was May 8, 1986. The 14-year member of the department and former sheriff was assisting the FBI with an extortion case when officers and agents confronted the suspect at a gas station north of Greenfield. As they attempted to arrest the suspect, he brandished a handgun and opened fire, striking Grass. The suspect was sentenced to 60 years in prison and died while serving that sentence. Malcolm Grass was survived by his wife, Carolyn, and sons, Kerry and Mark.
Maj. Robert Campbell of the sheriff’s department spoke during the service about Garrison, a corporal with the sheriff’s department whose end of watch was Jan. 1, 2000. At age 51, Garrison suffered a fatal heart attack while on duty in a single-vehicle accident. He was a tactical operator with the county’s SWAT team and its lead hostage negotiator, as well as an active member of the county’s Fraternal Order of Police and a founding member of the sheriff’s department honor guard. The U.S. Marine veteran served in the Vietnam War, during which he received two Purple Hearts. He was survived by a wife, son, daughter and several grandchildren.
Greenfield Police Chief Jeff Rasche commemorated Phillips, a patrolman with the city’s police department, whose end of watch was Sept. 30, 2010. Phillips was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver while he was on a bike patrol training ride at about 12:45 a.m. on U.S. 40 in Henry County. The driver later surrendered; was charged with failure to stop after a fatal accident; and sentenced to two years of home detention. Phillips, a Marine Corps veteran who had served with the GPD for about 4½ years and who had also served with the McCordsville Police Department, was survived by a wife, young sons, two sisters and his parents.
“Families must come to terms with the fact that the rest of their lives won’t include their loved ones,” Kerry Grass said during the service. “This includes raising their children, attending their marriages, the births of their grandchildren, and so on. We survivors need to remember to be grateful for the time that we do have with our loved ones.”
After the ceremony, Kerry Grass said that while he was only able to spend 20 years of his life with his father, he learned a lot from him in that time.
“He taught me how to be a man, and he taught me to be honest and respectful and to do the right thing,” he said.
His father also influenced the career he’s had in public safety and public service as a Pike Township firefighter in Marion County and Greenfield City Council member.
Carolyn Grass remembers her late husband as someone who loved his job.
“Everybody loved him, too,” she said.
She’s thankful for her sons, granddaughters and great-grandsons.
“I just wish Malcolm was here, because he loved kids,” she said.
She’s thankful for Peace Officers Memorial Day as well.
“The main thing about these events like this is how important it is to survivors that their loved one be remembered,” she said. “And they’ve always done it for us here.”
Phillips’ parents, William Jr. and Shirley Phillips, remember their son as easygoing and principled.
“He was a man that could joke, carry along with you, but just don’t lie to him,” William Phillips Jr. said.
Shirley Phillips recalled how caring he was toward children getting into mischief when he encountered them while out on patrol.
“He always tried to help them,” she said. “He wanted them to follow the right path; he didn’t want them to fall.”
Tyler Batton, an officer with the New Palestine Police Department and president of the county’s Fraternal Order of Police, served as master of ceremonies for Saturday’s service. He said while he was not privileged to work with the three fallen officers, many of the officers he works with did.
“I’ve learned in my career that these officers were not only protectors of the community, they were mentors to numerous officers they came in contact with, and most importantly, they were family men,” Batton said.
He thanked the officers’ survivors as well.
“One will never know the loss the families have experienced,” he said. “The least we can do is honor them and the work they did.”
Roger Kinion, chaplain of the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department and Greenfield Police Department, expressed thanks for the officers’ sacrifices during his invocation and prayed for strength for their families.
“Help us to remember them well, help us to honor their memories, and to remain committed to the tasks that are before us, to live a free life protected by the men and women who serve us,” Kinion said in his prayer.
Greenfield Mayor Chuck Fewell recalled how President John F. Kennedy announced the first Peace Officers Memorial Day in 1961.
“While this day was dedicated to honoring the brave men and women that have given the ultimate sacrifice, it should not be the only day that we think about and honor those who have passed,” Fewell said.
Bill Bolander, president of the Hancock County Council, expressed his gratitude toward Malcolm Grass, Garrison and Will Phillips as well.
“They gave their all for all of us,” Bolander said. “And I feel like maybe their spirits are still looking over us to a certain extent.”
Kerry Grass hopes the fallen officers’ legacies will be an inspiration to current and future ones.
“We need to be thankful that we have officers that are still willing to continue to do the job they were sworn to do,” he said. “In today’s climate, it is more difficult than ever. But evil shall not prevail. Officers, when you put on your uniform, remember to wear it in the respect that those that have given the ultimate sacrifice: protecting and serving the citizens they were sworn to protect.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”U.S. law enforcement officer fatalities” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
- 124 fatalities so far in 2021
- 2020
- 264 fatalities
- Increase of 96% from 135 in 2019
- Highest total since 1974
- COVID-19 highest cause (145)
- Firearms second highest cause (48)
- Average age of 47, with 17 years of service
- On average, each left behind two children
Source: National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Hancock County’s fallen officers” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Capt. Malcolm E. Grass
Hancock County Sheriff’s Department
End of watch May 8, 1986
Cpl. Dannie R. Garrison
Hancock County Sheriff’s Department
End of watch Jan. 1, 2000
Patrolman William E. Phillips III
Greenfield Police Department
End of watch Sept. 30, 2010
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