Iowa's fallen officers honored in ceremony

DES MOINES – State officials on Friday honored 15 Iowa peace officers that have died in the line of duty at a special memorial site outside the State Capitol.

The somber ceremony was held during Peace Officer Memorial Week to honor men or women who have died while apprehending a suspect, protecting the community from crime or maintaining order.

Lt. Gov. Patty Judge said nobody embodies Iowa's value of service more than its peace officers, and said they were remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

“They play a vital role in providing safety and security to communities, and we owe the officers a real thank you for everything they do,” Judge said, leading a moment of silence for fallen officers.

The names of the 15 were added to the memorial, which officials have been working to reconcile with a national list that includes Iowans.

Many of the deaths of those honored Friday stretched back several decades, with the earliest in 1891.

That year, Officer Elijah Edward Wishart of the Des Moines Police Department was shot and killed by a man attempting to dump rubbish in a graveyard. When Wishart approached the man, the suspect pulled two revolvers and shot Wishart.

Other deaths were more recent.

The family of Corporal Jon Eric Hermann of the Woodbury County Sheriff's Office traveled to Des Moines for the ceremony. Herman was killed in 1993, when the airplane he was on crashed. Hermann and another officer had been transporting prisoners from the Woodbury County Jail to state facilities in Oakdale and Mount Pleasant.

The officers stopped in Fort Madison on their return trip to pick up prisoner Armando Cardenas to bring him to the Woodbury County Jail. The plane crashed upon departure from the airport, killing Hermann and the other officer. Cardenas survived the crash, but was seriously injured.

Hermann's mother, Kris Hermann, raised money for a local memorial and was at the ceremony Friday.

Hermann's sister, Lisa Schupbach of Grundy Center, said she never knew a memorial existed in Des Moines.

“It's nice to get the recognition and then other people can find out, so it's a way to keep their legacy around,” Schupbach said.

Some of the other fallen officers recognized Friday include the following:

-- Sheriff Ernest Henry Wahlert of the Hancock County Sheriff's Office, who was accidentally shot in the chest on Feb., 4, 1930, when his revolver fell from his holster and discharged. Wahlert and a deputy were after bootleggers during a snowstorm when their vehicle got stuck in the snow. Wahlert's revolver fell from his shoulder holster as the officers attempted to push the car out of the snow.

-- Patrolman Sylvan E. Dykstra of the Sioux City Police Department, who was shot and killed at the police station on July 18, 1953, when another officer's weapon accidentally discharged.