Close to 300 people gathered at the riverfront pavilion in Herman last Tuesday to honor Detective Sergeant Mason Griffith and officer Adam Sullentrup, who were shot last year while responding to a disturbance at the Casey’s gas station. The evening was warm and breezy, and Hermann Chief of Police Marlon Walker officiated.

City Administrator Patricia Heaney, wearing the bright blue that symbolizes both the Hermann Bearcats and the thin blue line, opened eloquently.

“It is important that we pause to remember,” she said. “It’s healing to gather together, to reminisce, to laugh, to grieve, and to comfort one another. To reflect on life, sacrifice, and faith. In difficult times, we draw our strength from God, and from the community around us. And we are blessed with such an amazing community. There have been so many expressions of love and support for Mason and Adam, and I’ve also seen firsthand, over this past year, the incredible outpouring of support for our police department. So, a big thank you to the community for all that you’ve done.”

She went on to talk about the amazing support that law enforcement officers and other first responders show for each other, in both emotional and practical ways.

“It makes me think of the familiar scripture in the Gospel of John chapter 15,” she continued. “It is frequently quoted, but I don’t think there’s anything more poignant. You all know it. It says ‘Greater love has no man than this, that he lays down his life for his friends.’ It’s unfortunate that we are living in a day when there is increasing danger and hostility toward law enforcement. It should make us all the more appreciative of our local law enforcement, public safety and emergency personnel who continue to serve us every day. I believe I speak on behalf of this community when I say that we are so grateful to all of you for your dedication to our safety. And I believe one of the important ways that we can honor Mason and Adam is by honoring and respecting their brothers and sisters in blue, who continue to show up every day to hold that thin blue line.”

The next speaker was Pastor Keith Morrison, Griffith’s pastor at Zion Church, in Bland. After a short prayer, he quoted Griffith’s favorite scripture, Joshua 1:9, “Be strong and courageous, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Griffith’s mom, he said, had accurately summed up the past year by saying it seemed like a long, short year.

“Seems like it was yesterday,” Morrison remarked. “But it seems like it’s been so very long ago, like 100 years ago. So, what do we do now? Where do we go from here? How do we turn the tragedy into triumph?”

Morrison went on to tell a story about John Colter, who was part of the Lewis and Clark expedition. While trapping with John Potts, the two met a party of Blackfoot Indians. After an altercation, Potts shot one of the Blackfoot, and the other members of that party shot Colter with arrows and captured him. They stripped Colter naked and consulted on how to put him to death, before deciding to make him literally run for his life.

“So, they sent him out and he was running across that rocky, rocky plain,” Morrison said. “And his feet were getting cut, and he was running so hard that he was beginning to bleed out of his nose and out of his mouth. And he, by mile three, had so outrun all of the other braves, he thought he had made it, but he kept looking over his shoulder and there was another brave right behind him. And he was getting so exhausted, he didn’t know what else to do. And at mile four, he was even closer, and at mile five, he was so close that he knew that he was within reach of his sphere. And he did the only thing he knew to do. He turned and he ran toward the brave and shouted. I’m not trying to be funny here, but could you imagine a big naked guy running at you and shouting and screaming? And it startled the brave so much that he stumbled and he fell. And at that point, John Coulter was able to save himself and get to the river.

“You might think it was an odd story that I just told you, but I think that some of us sometimes we feel like we’ve been stripped of our hope, we’ve been stripped of encouragement, we’ve been stripped, we are left with nothing. But I’m here to tell you that you can still run your race, even if you feel like you’ve lost a lot. You can still run hard. And I think in honor of Mason and Adam, every single one of us, this is how we turn tragedy into triumph. We keep running our race, even though we have lost a lot. We keep running. We don’t give up. We keep courage. Be strong, stand strong. And be courageous. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

New York City Police Lieutenant Ben Gelber, a close friend of Griffith’s who flew in for the vigil, spoke next. With humor and love, Gelber told several stories about his friendship with Griffith.

“Mason would give the shirt off of his back to anyone who ever needed it,” Gelber said. “We’re all one big family. We fight together, we bleed together, we cry together, and we fight together. Detective Sergeant Mason Griffith, you will never be forgotten.”

Detective Lynde Mantels with the Gasconade County Sheriff’s Department, who is also the current Rosebud Chief of Police said, “Against all odds, by the grace of God, Adam is alive and on his journey to rehabilitation. Although I did not know Adam very well before the tragic events, I feel connected to him and his family, as if I’ve known them my whole life. Mason talked very highly of Adam, which did not come often with Mason’s standards of a good quality police officer. I want Adam and his family to know the gratitude and appreciation I have for them. You are all warriors for the hardships you have endured. You guys were knocked down, but you have battled through trials and tribulations. It shows the strength within your family. Sullentrup family, keep fighting the good fight, and know your family in blue will forever be here if you need this.”

“Detective Sergeant Mason Griffith gave his life that day doing exactly what he loved,” Mantels continued. “I could talk for days about how great of a person Mason was, and the impact he had on so many lives. But you all are here a year later and are proof of the kind of man he was. I will forever be grateful for his ultimate sacrifice for his community, being a mentor for me, and being a great friend. All I can say is that it’s true about what they say — the good go too soon. To the Griffith family, I’m here for you, as Mason would have been for my family.”

Mantels also shared the John chapter 15 verse 13 scripture to set up his closing comment. “In the famous words of Mason, right before putting handcuffs on a suspect, ‘That’s it!’”

Walker returned to the podium to close out the hour-long vigil. After thanking people and agencies individually, he said “When the call came out, they came without question. Without hesitation. That shows what wearing this uniform means, and this badge, is that we put our lives on the line each and every day knowing that when we leave our house, our loved ones, (it) may be the last time we see them, but we do that because that’s what we’re called to do. That’s what Mason was born to do. When he was born, he was born to serve. That’s what he loved doing.

“Mason was just an amazing man,” Walker continued. “I miss those days with Mason, and speaking with him, and just able to call him and just to hear his laugh and whatever creative meal he came up with that day to tell me about, I could laugh about and tell him how nasty it was. That’s just who Mason was, just a great man and dedicated to the city of Hermann. I thank Mason, and his family for sharing him with us, and all he did for the city of Harmon. He was just an amazing officer. He’s truly missed. And to officer Sullentrup, again, he’s a warrior, from day one. With prayer, where he’s at now is just amazing. And the support for his family, his wife, and the community is just amazing, and how much he’s loved. And we continue to pray for Adam, and we’ll be there for his family and be with him each day as he continues with his rehabilitation. And we thank you for him also, and we’re here for you also.”

Walker spoke emotionally of how shocking it was for him to get the call that he had officers down.

“But I’m not going to let the tragedy that night define us with this department or the city of Hermann or the county of Gasconade, because the people in this county are amazing,” Walker said. “The support they’ve shown this past year for law enforcement, for emergency services, for everyone is going amazing. And I couldn’t be prouder than to say this is my home, and where I work at. So thank you, everyone, for all that you’re done this past year.

“Putting this badge on every day,” he continued, “just means something, whether its police, it’s the volunteer firemen over here, who come out all hours of the day at night, for free, to put fires out, to render aid — they do it for free, because they love it, because they’re called to do it. Our EMTs, our paramedics, our military, you’re born to do this job. Its something, you just don’t wake up one day and say ‘I want to be a cop, and it might be cool.’ It doesn’t last. You have to truly want to serve and protect your community, and those who are here wearing the uniform know that. We continue to do this job each and every day in memory of Mason and Adam, because we’re called to do this, and we do this knowing that each day could be our last, but we do it anyway because that’s what we’re called to do. So I’d like to thank everyone. Mason, I miss you and thank you for everything you did for the city of Herman, being a good friend to me, knowing I could count on you to get the job done. You will always be remembered.”

The vigil ended with the lighting of candles while the crowd sang “Amazing Grace.” It was live streamed to the city of Hermann’s Facebook page and can be watched there in its entirety.