A ground breaking ceremony for an BRTC Officer Memorial Garden will be held on the north side of the Law Enforcement Training Academy (LETA) building on the Pocahontas campus of Black River Technical College on Friday, April 5 at 10 a.m. Several family members of the lost officers are expected to attend. Anyone desiring to show support for law enforcement is welcome.
The Black River Technical College Law Enforcement Training Academy (LETA) has been in operation since 1999. Since that time, approximately 1,800 young men and women have graduated and are now serving the citizens of Arkansas as officers for city, county and state agencies. Three LETA graduates have lost their lives in the line of duty after graduating: One from a vehicle crash, one from an aircraft crash, and one from a gunshot wound.
The project resulted from a discussion with LETA Class 2017B about how to honor the LETA graduates’ and future sacrifices. Class 2017B decided to construct a brick memorial on the north side of the LETA complex which will remind enrolled officers their training must be taken seriously and to honor those who have served before them. The memorial will include flags in a garden-like setting and will serve as a focus for morning and afternoon formations and flag services.
A large portion of the funding is from brick sponsorship. Donors may have a message engraved on a paver stone.
To support the memorial wall, contact the BRTC Law Enforcement Training Academy at (870) 248-4190 or contact any current of former graduate.