Shrine to officers ending, but not support

Local businesses were still adorned with blue ribbons leading up South State Street to a police SUV buried in aging floral bouquets and handwritten notes on Monday — just days after funeral services for two slain Westerville police officers.

“The amount of signs, and flags, and blue ribbons and blue lights says a lot about this community. ... It was phenomenal that we have that kind of support, and we truly appreciate it. I know the families were absolutely touched,” said Westerville Police Chief Joe Morbitzer.

The temporary memorial is expected to be taken down this week, he said. All of the items will be catalogued.

A GoFundMe account posted by the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9 originally had a goal of raising $50,000 for the families of officers Eric Joering and Anthony Morelli, then later was changed to $500,000. As of Monday evening, more than $560,000 was raised in the online account. The account will close on Friday.

“We appreciate all the donations,” Morbitzer told reporters.

The line-of-duty deaths are a first for the department’s 72 sworn personnel.

Joering and Morelli were two out of six officers killed in the line of duty in less than a week as a result of shootings across the country.

“It’s not just here. ... It’s all over the United States,” Morbitzer said. Life, painfully, goes on. Officers in Westerville are still showing up for work and taking calls.

“Some (of those involved) wanted to come to work the very next day. We encouraged them not to,” he said.

Some officers have taken time off to grieve and process what happened. Other nearby police departments have sent officers to cover shifts, “so our streets have been protected,” Morbitzer said.

Liaisons from the police department have been assigned to both families.

“They understand that’s a lifetime assignment during the course of their duty,” Morbitzer said.

When asked what that entailed, he told reporters, “Whatever the family needs. If for the girls, it’s having us go to father-daughter dances or showing up at sporting events, then we’ll be there.”