WYTHEVILLE, Va. – A memorial service was held in Wytheville on Tuesday for Officer Jeremy Hall, the corrections officer who was killed by an inmate in the line of duty on Nov. 17.
In a moving spectacle, hundreds of law enforcement and corrections officers filled the room to honor their fallen brother. Some in attendance traveled from as far as California to be at the memorial. The most emotional moments occurred when his wife took the stage.
“So I ask today, and every day, that you never forget his name and the sacrifice he made on Nov. 17.”
Dawn Hall, wife of Jeremy Hall
In addition to Hall’s wife, the warden of River North Correctional Facility spoke about Hall’s service to his community.
“I have a book called The Hero Code. It’s not a person that jumps over buildings or stops a locomotive. It’s a common man from Elk Creek that put on that uniform every day and kissed his family goodbye. And came in there into where 1,016 inmates live, and done the right thing.”
Kevin McCoy, warden, River North Correctional Facility
This was the first time in over 50 years that a Virginia correctional officer was killed in the line of duty. The tragedy possibly highlighted some flaws with staffing in the prison system.
“Prison is not a safe place, unfortunately. And it is understaffed and often underfunded. I mean, the DOC is the largest expenditure in the Virginia state budget, but it still doesn’t have adequate staffing, it still doesn’t have adequate services. So it’s a difficult thing to recruit and maintain staff, it’s a difficult thing to make sure that the facility is operating at optimal capacity. And it’s just an unsafe place in general.”
Jesse Crosson, executive director, Second Chancer Foundation
Gov. Glenn Youngkin was expected to attend, but inclement weather prevented his arrival. Youngkin ordered flags across the commonwealth to fly at half-staff in honor of Hall. And in Grayson County, that resulted in a heartwarming moment.
“I was talking to his uncle earlier today, Jeremy’s uncle, who happens to work at, I think, Grayson County Middle School. He was the one that was in charge of lowering the flag to half-staff today. And it meant so much to him to have that honor and to know that was going on around the state. So it’s very special and I really appreciate Gov. Youngkin ordering those flags to be lowered.”
Chad Dotson, director, Virginia Department of Corrections
The entire ceremony was a beautiful display of support and grief for one of their own who paid the ultimate price.
You can view a recording of the event here.