HANCOCK COUNTY — Matt Shahnavaz, the father of fallen Elwood Police Department officer Noah Shahnavaz and Tom Leath, the father of fallen Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer Breann Leath, stood side-by-side next to the table filled with pumpkins at Tuttle Orchard, 5717 West 300N, Greenfield.
They were looking over the hand crafted, carved pumpkins depicting the police department badges of six different fallen officers.
“This is one of those events where she’s being recognized,” Tom said of his daughter, Breann.
Breann was shot and killed in the line of duty Thursday, April 9, 2020 while responding to a domestic disturbance.
“This, seeing these pumpkin carvings, it means a lot to us father’s who have lost a loved one in the line of duty,” Tom said.
For Matt, seeing the carved pumpkins with the badges engraved created a bitter sweet moment after losing his son Noah who was shot and killed in the line of duty Sunday, July 31, 2022.
“It’s nice to see someone took the time and their talents and their gifts to honor these fallen heroes so that means an awful lot, but it is a little bitter sweet because it brings up memories of when Noah and I used to do pumpkin carvings with the whole family,” Matt said.
There were six pumpkins in all, hand carved by Hancock County 911 Dispatcher Jon Bullman who decided he wanted to do something special to pay tribute to officers killed in the line of duty. Last year, he created a similar badge pumpkin to honor Richmond fallen officer Seara Burton who was killed in the line of duty. This year he decided to do more.
“The whole process to carve out the badges takes about two hours,” Bullman said. “From creating the template, getting it on the pumpkin to carving it and cleaning it out takes a while.”
Plus, Bullman has to pick the perfect sized pumpkins.
“I’ve got to have the taller type pumpkins, because sometimes things don’t fit right on the round ones so I have to go around to a lot of different places to find the right ones,” he said.
Bullman found out he had a skill for pumpkin carving about 12 years ago and has been carving ever sense. The plan is to honor fallen officers each and every fall and encourage others to do the same.
“I’ve seen a couple Facebook pages I’m on that do things like this and I’ve seen some other people who are following suit and are doing this as well,” Bullman said. “This is something I will do every year, but the ultimate goal is to have zero fallen officer badges to carve next year.”
In addition to carving badge pumpkins to honor Breann and Noah, Bullman also paid tribute this year to fallen officers John Drum of the Marion County Sheriff’s Department; Heather Glenn from the Tell City Police Department along with Aaron Smith and James Bailey from the Indiana State Police.
Carving the pumpkins is Bullman’s way to honor the sacrifice and memory of the fallen officers and remind their family members their loved one is not forgotten.
“I really like the fact that the families get to display them and it can spark conversations,” Bullman said. “I hope they can set these on their porches and start some conversations with others about their loved one.”
Sgt. John Perrine, Public Information Officer for the Indiana State Police, was also on hand as Bullman and officials from the Hancock County 911 Center shared the pumpkins on display at Tuttle Orchard Thursday morning.
“This is beyond heartwarming,” Perrine said. “We never forget the fallen and we know the public doesn’t forget either because these officers paid the ultimate sacrifice. They gave their lives to protect their communities and to see someone take the time to honor them months and even years after their deaths is important.”
Perrine noted Bullman didn’t get paid to carve the pumpkins, but made them out of pride to honor the fallen officers and that means something.
“It just fills our hearts with respect,” Perrine said. “I know the families are going to appreciate this.”
Officials with the departments and the Hancock County 911 Center say they plan to get the pumpkins to the families of the fallen officers so they can enjoy them this fall.
“When these pumpkins are lit from the bottom, because they are hallow, they glow and look awesome,” Alyssa Eichholtz, Hancock County 911 Public Information Officer said. “This is just another way to share the story of these officers who did make the ultimate sacrifice and we’re thankful Jon made them.”
After the showcase at Tuttle Orchard, the pumpkins were moved back to the 911 center where they were kept for a few days before being sent to the families.
