For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
Contact: Ben Conroy
(984) 383-9038
RALEIGH – Today, Attorney General Jeff Jackson and the North Carolina Justice Academy honored North Carolina’s fallen officers and their families at the 40th Peace Officers’ Memorial Day Ceremony. The annual ceremony pays tribute to officers who died in the line of duty last year and is also attended by family members of officers who died in service in previous years.
“These officers gave their life in service to this state and its people,” said Attorney General Jeff Jackson. “I’m grateful to be able to have spent time with their families and their colleagues today to honor our fallen officers and to express our gratitude for the courage and sacrifice of every public safety officer. I thank the North Carolina Justice Academy and the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office for hosting this moving memorial.”
The guest speaker for this year’s ceremony was Russ Ferguson, United States Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. He was appointed by U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi in March 2025, and he serves as the chief federal law enforcement officer for 32 counties across western North Carolina, including the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
“It is a privilege to spend time today doing publicly what we in law enforcement do every day – honor our fallen heroes who sacrificed their lives to protect others,” said Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. “We are so thankful for our brave law enforcement officers and their families for the risks they endure on a daily basis to protect our community.”
The officers who died in service to the people of North Carolina last year were:
- Deputy Christopher Shayne Johnson, Harnett County Sheriff’s Office
- Investigator William Alden Elliott, North Carolina Department of Adult Correction
- Officer Joshua Eyer, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department
- Investigator Samuel Poloche, North Carolina Department of Adult Correction
- Deputy U.S. Marshal Thomas M. Weeks, U.S. Marshals Service
- Major Michelle Lynn Quintero, Madison County Sheriff’s Office
- Deputy Charles James “Jim” Lau, Macon County Sheriff’s Office
- Officer Michael Horan, Greensboro Police Department
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