Officers’ legacies strengthen Westerville
Some of the blue ribbons still tied around trees and light posts in Westerville may have faded, but the reason they’re there has not. Not after a year. And perhaps never.
The ribbons are in honor of Eric Joering and Anthony Morelli, two Westerville police officers who were killed Feb. 10, 2018, in the line of duty, a tragedy that rattled the community and still lingers.
“As simple as it is, the color blue means something new,” said Olivia Crago, 21, a lifelong Westerville resident now studying communication and dance at Otterbein University. “When you see it, it’s a visual reminder.”
For Crago, it’s a reminder of the sadness she feels for the families of Joering and Morelli, both of whom were husbands and fathers.
For acting Westerville Police Chief Charles Chandler, the ribbons, blue front-porch lights, Thin Blue Line flags and #Westervillestrong signs are all reminders that, yes, time is passing, but the community still cares about the police and the sacrifices officers make daily.
“A lot of people would say that’s just symbolism, but I don’t think it is,” Chandler said. “Prior to this, I probably would’ve been one of those naysayers. No, it really means something.”
Grace Chapel Community Church, 7798 Big Walnut Road in Westerville, is holding a one-year anniversary memorial service at 10 a.m. Sunday.
Joering, a more than 16-year veteran of the force, and Morelli, a nearly 30-year veteran, were down-toearth and committed to law enforcement to the point where they always made sure they stayed in shape, he said. Whenever Morelli saw Chandler working out, Morelli went out of his way to encourage and support him, Chandler said.
Joering and Morelli “had it all,” said Keith Ferrell, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9. Not only were they hard workers, he said, but they enjoyed being active in the community. “They were the cops you wanted your officers to be,” he said.
In the wake of the tragedy, the department placed an increased emphasis on officers’ emotional, mental and physical health, Chandler said.
“This really taught us that we needed to take officer wellness to a whole other level,” he said.
At the time of Joering and Morelli’s deaths, two Westerville police officers — one of whom is now retired — were formally trained in a type of peerto-peer counseling for traumatic events, said Lt. Ron Mcmillin. But recently, a group of about 25 people from the city’s police and fire departments completed the training.
The department also formalized a partnership with Ohio State University’s Stress, Trauma and Resilience program, which offers therapy services for first responders to address the trauma and burnout they may experience on the job, Mcmillin said. It’s an option for help beyond the peer-to-peer counseling offered within the department, he said.
One thing that hasn’t changed is the way officers handle calls and situations like those that Joering and Morelli found themselves in that Saturday morning a year ago, Chandler said. Responding to a potential domestic violence situation after a 911 hang-up call, the officers were met with gunfire as they entered the apartment.
Nothing changed, he said, because “nobody on that scene did anything wrong.”
“The hard thing for some people to grasp is that police officers know they’re putting themselves in harm’s way,” Chandler said. “Sometimes our job is not pretty, and Tony and Eric are warriors. They knew the threat, they took on the threat and they neutralized the threat. And they gave their lives to protect others.”
The outpouring of support that arose in the subsequent days and weeks was “unreal,” Chandler said.
So much food was brought to the police department that offciers gave some to the fire department and, eventually, the city asked for the donations to stop because it didn’t want food going to waste. Officers from other central Ohio departments also picked up shifts for a couple of weeks to give Westerville cops time off. And thousands came to memorial services.
“In our job, we deal with people when they’re not in a good situation all the time. So, it kind of really opened your eyes when you saw how the community came out in droves” in the department’s time of need, Chandler said.
Emblematic of small-town America, the Westerville community truly banned together in those unfortunate times, said Shaun Stonerook, owner of Schneider’s Bakery in Uptown Westerville.
“It’s something most people around here will never forget,” he said, recalling the steady stream of people last year who brought flowers, notes and other tokens of appreciation to a spot near Westerville City Hall, where a police cruiser was parked.
And it’s changed the community, said Kim Buzard, a special education teacher at Westerville Central High School who helped arrange for supportive banners to be hung throughout the city last year. She said she’s noticed people being more supportive than before.
For example, they’ve been more responsive on Westerville’s page of Neighborhood Bridges, a website where people post about someone in need and others offer help. Recently, a family in need of mattresses received them through the site, she said. It seems they’re also responding more quickly, she said.
“It seems like those things are more visible — not that they weren’t always happening,” Buzard said. At the least, because of the Feb. 10 incident, “maybe we’re all just a little bit more aware of the good things that are happening.”
The memory of Joering and Morelli also remains visible at the residence where the two officers made their final run.
Between two rows of condos, in a large bay window, photos of Joering and Morelli are on display. White roses hang above the photos. A blue floral wreath sits beneath them, as do about eight candles and a picture frame with the words “In Memory of Our Fallen Officers” in it along with a police badge with a thin blue line through it.
When it’s dark, off to the right, a blue porch light shines brightly on it all.
kstankiewicz@dispatch.com @kevin_stank