Fri Feb 03 2012
by Laura Freeman
Reporter
Boston Heights -- More than 100 people gathered in the cold Jan. 19 to remember a police officer killed in the line of duty a year ago.
Family, friends, city officials and police officers from around the region joined together at the Fairview Cemetery on East Boston Mills Road to remember Jarod M. Dean, the Hudson resident and Boston Heights police officer who was killed while clearing debris on Route 8 on Jan. 19, 2009.
People gathered near a memorial for fallen Boston Heights police officers, which the village dedicated on Memorial Day last year.
The memorial consists of a granite stone with an engraved plaque and several bricks in front of it. Only one brick has a name on it -- Officer Dean's.
His mother, fighting tears, said it didn't seem like a year had passed since her son died.
"It's so hard," said Marie Dean of Hudson. "My boy is gone."
Officer Dean's father, Tom, said he would like his son to be remembered for his kindness and his dedication to his job and family.
"The kid loved working with children," he said.
Officer Dean worked in the Village of Windham where he counseled children before joining the police force in Boston Heights, he said.
"We heard so much from the people that he helped," said his father.
Tom thanked all the people and organizations who helped his family during the past year.
"We don't want to see another incident like this," he said.
Officer Dean's brother, John, a Hudson police officer, said his younger brother always wanted to be a police officer.
"He got that opportunity, and he did a great job," John said.
The death of one officer affects every other police officer, he said.
"The bond that is always between [police] officers is bigger with things like this," he said. "It brings us so much closer."
Police officers from Hudson, Peninsula, Macedonia, Munroe Falls, Twinsburg, the village of Windham and others were present to show their support.
"It was a great turnout," John Dean said. "We appreciate it. We miss him."
Boston Heights Mayor William Goncy began the memorial by reviewing the ways Officer Dean has been honored in the past year.
Police Chief Joseph Varga talked about receiving the news of Officer Dean's death a year before.
"I got the phone call about the accident involving Jarod I never thought I'd get," Varga said.
Varga said he had planned to retire last year, but postponed those plans to help his officers deal with the death of Officer Dean.
Varga described Officer Dean as a kid with a smirk and love of cookies. An iron-on patch with Officer Dean's No. 5 were available to keep his memory alive.
"I wish it never happened, but it did," Varga said.
Pastor Dan Page of Cornerstone Community Church in Stow said Officer Dean's life was brief but full.
"We remember the life Jarod lived, and we grieve the way he left," Page said.
Page offered a prayer that no more names of fallen police officers would be engraved on the bricks at the Fairview Cemetery memorial.
"Our prayer and his desire is that his name will be the only one on a brick," Page said.
Officer Dean was clearing debris from Route 8 near the Ohio Turnpike at 5:30 a.m. Jan. 19, 2009, when a truck traveling southbound struck and killed him.
The driver of the box truck, who was found guilty of a minor misdemeanor charge of reckless operation, told police he did not see Officer Dean.
Officer Dean was 24 and lived with his parents in Hudson.
E-mail: lfreeman@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3150
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