This video includes the reading of the Roll of Honor and a balloon release for each officer of the Pikes Peak Region being honored in 2016.
Master of Ceremonies Joe Cole, V.P. News Director/Anchor of Fox 21 News, read each name and a blue balloon was released.
Part of this ceremony involved the delivery to the podium of the 2016 Memorial Wreath. The wreath was brought forward by members of the Mounted Unit of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office from across the park behind the podium. An officer led a riderless horse with boots backward in the stirrups and with a badge and hat attached representing a fallen officer of the Police Department of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS). Officer Garrett Swasey was killed in a gun battle on the day after Thanksgiving while defending citizens of Colorado Springs against a deranged gunman.
Near Prospect Lake the wreath was transferred to an Honor Guard that included two officers of the UCCS Police Department. As that group continued toward the podium, Mr. Cole began reading the names on the Roll of Honor.
After the release of the final blue balloon in remembrance of Officer Swasey, the Memorial Wreath was placed on the podium by the two UCCS Officers.
Some of my camera work was distracting as I disengaged from the tripod and moved to better locations. So I overlayed the video of some still shots to cover that at appropriate times. I also close the video with a picture of the riderless horse and the EPSO officer who led it by the podium in honor of Officer Swasey.
