Youth rally honors police officers
Sea of Youth vigil pays tribute to living and fallen officers
In honor of police week, May 14-20, Medina held its annual Sea of Youth Rally at Medina Performing Arts center. The candlelight vigil honored the brave men and women of law enforcement that put their lives in danger for the sake of keeping their community safe. Photo by SAMANTHA PONOMARENKO
MEDINA – Hundreds of people gathered at the Medina Performing Arts Center May 19 to pay tribute to police officers, dead and living, who put their lives on the line to protect our communities.
The occasion was a candlelight vigil called the Medina County Sea of Youth, which was planned on the steps of the Medina County Courthouse, but moved inside to nearby Medina High School because of inclement weather.
The event featured inspirational music performed by school choruses from Medina and Brunswick and the Celtic Eagle Pipe Band. It also featured testimonials from various public officials and a solemn ceremony in which a series of speakers read the names of all 394 officers added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. this year. These 394 officers include 143 officers who were killed in 2016, plus 251 officers who died in previous years.
None of those officers was from Medina County, a fact Medina Mayor Dennis Hanwell attributes partly to good relations between police officers and the public.
“We’re blessed in Medina County to have departments that focus on community-oriented policing,” said the former police chief. “Police officers here are part of the community who many people know and who don’t show up only when there’s a problem.”
Trevor Satterwaite, a sophomore at Medina High, has developed admiration and respect for police officers in part through his involvement in the Medina County Police Athletic League. It was his idea to hold a demonstration in support of police officers here and he organized the first Sea of Youth rally in Medina three years ago.
Trevor said his attendance at a similar Sea of Blue rally to honor police officers in Cleveland inspired him to do something in Medina County.
“It was a huge event, but I noticed there were not a lot of kids there,” he said. “I thought we should do something that got kids more involved.”
Trevor’s mother Annie, a Medina teacher, helped organize the event three years ago and it has been repeated each year since. The impact of the event reached Washington and earned Trevor a letter of commendation from President Barrack Obama.
Others to speak at this year’s even in Medina included County Auditor Mike Kovack, State Senators Larry Obhof, Joe Schiavoni and Thomas Patton, State. Rep. Steve Hambley, Juvenile Court Judge Kevin Dunn and Medina County Sheriff Tom Miller.
The event hit especially close to home for Patton, whose son was a police officer killed in the line of duty.
“They (police officers) have the toughest jobs in the world,” he said. “They also have families they want to go home to at the end of the day, so people should remember that when they think of or encounter police officers.”
Dunn said he was a prosecutor and defense attorney before becoming judge and has seen all sides of law enforcement issues.
“I can tell you we have a good group wearing blue in Medina County,” he said. “Integrity means doing the right thing even if no one is watching and these police officers here have it.”
The occasion was a candlelight vigil called the Medina County Sea of Youth, which was planned on the steps of the Medina County Courthouse, but moved inside to nearby Medina High School because of inclement weather.
The event featured inspirational music performed by school choruses from Medina and Brunswick and the Celtic Eagle Pipe Band. It also featured testimonials from various public officials and a solemn ceremony in which a series of speakers read the names of all 394 officers added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. this year. These 394 officers include 143 officers who were killed in 2016, plus 251 officers who died in previous years.
None of those officers was from Medina County, a fact Medina Mayor Dennis Hanwell attributes partly to good relations between police officers and the public.
“We’re blessed in Medina County to have departments that focus on community-oriented policing,” said the former police chief. “Police officers here are part of the community who many people know and who don’t show up only when there’s a problem.”
Trevor Satterwaite, a sophomore at Medina High, has developed admiration and respect for police officers in part through his involvement in the Medina County Police Athletic League. It was his idea to hold a demonstration in support of police officers here and he organized the first Sea of Youth rally in Medina three years ago.
Trevor said his attendance at a similar Sea of Blue rally to honor police officers in Cleveland inspired him to do something in Medina County.
“It was a huge event, but I noticed there were not a lot of kids there,” he said. “I thought we should do something that got kids more involved.”
Trevor’s mother Annie, a Medina teacher, helped organize the event three years ago and it has been repeated each year since. The impact of the event reached Washington and earned Trevor a letter of commendation from President Barrack Obama.
Others to speak at this year’s even in Medina included County Auditor Mike Kovack, State Senators Larry Obhof, Joe Schiavoni and Thomas Patton, State. Rep. Steve Hambley, Juvenile Court Judge Kevin Dunn and Medina County Sheriff Tom Miller.
The event hit especially close to home for Patton, whose son was a police officer killed in the line of duty.
“They (police officers) have the toughest jobs in the world,” he said. “They also have families they want to go home to at the end of the day, so people should remember that when they think of or encounter police officers.”
Dunn said he was a prosecutor and defense attorney before becoming judge and has seen all sides of law enforcement issues.
“I can tell you we have a good group wearing blue in Medina County,” he said. “Integrity means doing the right thing even if no one is watching and these police officers here have it.”