Peace Officer's Memorial Statue - Odessa, Texas
Posted by: 
linkys
N 31° 50.760 W 102° 22.119
13R E 748999 N 3526383
A very poignant memorial in a central Texas town that was undertaken in response to the tragic day in September 2007 when three Odessa Police Officers were gunned down when they responded to a domestic disturbance call.
Waymark Code: WMAHC8
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/16/2011
Views: 3
Located directly in front of the police station is a beautiful sculpture, cast in bronze, of St. Michael the Archangel, patron saint of police officers, kneeling with wings spread and sword raised, over an officer leaning back against him.
On five bronze plaques around the statue are the following inscriptions
CORPORAL
ABEL RENTERIA MARQUES
TOUR OF DUTY
7 YEARS 1 MONTH
END OF WATCH
SEPTEMBER 12, 2007
CORPORAL
JOHN SCOTT GARDNER
TOUR OF DUTY
4 YEARS 5 MONTHS
END OF WATCH
SEPTEMBER 8, 2007
CORPORAL
ARLIE "LEE" JONES
TOUR OF DUTY
23 YEARS
END OF WATCH
SEPTEMBER 8, 2007
CORPORAL
SCOTT STANTON SMITH
TOUR OF DUTY
3 YEARS
END OF WATCH
FEBRUARY 6, 1988
OFFICER
GORDON TERRY TOAL
TOUR OF DUTY
2 YEARS
END OF WATCH
AUGUST 19, 1982
Several articles have appeared in the local newspaper, the Odessa American. Here are links to those articles December 9, 2009 and September 3, 2010.
Besides the statue, there are benches placed in an arc some distance back from the base of the statue. On the benches are large images of the badges of the fallen officers.
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