JEFFERSON CITY – The Hermann police detective shot and killed last March attempting to arrest a wanted man is now included on the Wall of Honor at the Missouri Law Enforcement Memorial on the north side of the State Capitol building.

A placard displaying Det. Sgt. Mason E. Griffith’s name and end-of-watch date of March 12, 2023, was added to the memorial recently which now includes 746 Missourians who died in the line of duty since 1836.

Members of Missouri’s law enforcement community from across the state gathered Saturday morning inside the State Capitol to honor four fallen officers who paid the ultimate price for their service.

The names of Griffith and three other officers have been added to the memorial’s Wall of Honor. The memorial was dedicated in 1994.

Griffith, 34, was shot and killed March 6, 2023, as he and Hermann police patrolman Adam Sullentrup attempted to arrest a wanted man in the Casey’s General Store in Hermann. Sullentrup was seriously injured and continues his recovery from his home in Washington, Mo. Griffith had been a policeman for 12 years and was also chief of the Rosebud Police Department when he died.

The ceremony, which normally takes place outside, at the Missouri Law Enforcement Memorial, was moved to the Capitol Rotunda because of the threat of inclement weather.

Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe and Attorney General Andrew Bailey were among the speakers at the 37th annual memorial service held on the first Saturday in May.

“It takes great courage, strength, and commitment for law enforcement officers to put on their uniform each day knowing that their duty requires them to run toward the dangers that others flee,” said Kehoe in his opening remarks. “We can never repay the immense debt we owe those who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect us, but we are eternally grateful for their selfless service and vow to continue to support their families and loved ones.”

“The 746 officers’ names inscribed on Missouri’s Law Enforcement Memorial represent the very best of us — a legacy of heroic service to protect Missourians, despite the risks,” said Bailey, the guest speaker for the ceremony. “Today, we send the message to those in law enforcement who work to protect us every day that we have their backs.”

The list dates back to April 28, 1836, when two lawmen from St. Louis County were attacked when a prisoner they were transporting to jail pulled a knife from his pocket and stabbed each of them. The suspect was captured but an angry mob took him from the sheriff, tied him to a tree, and burned him to death, according to the history compiled for each of the deceased honored at the memorial.

Each year, the families of law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty the previous year, and through the decades, participate in the ceremony by placing white carnations in a wreath in honor of Missouri’s fallen heroes.

On Friday evening a candlelight vigil was held at the Law Enforcement Memorial in remembrance of all Missouri law enforcement officers who made the ultimate sacrifice. The governor ordered the Capitol dome and Law Enforcement Memorial to be lighted blue on Friday night in honor of fallen law enforcement officers. Friday was also Law Enforcement Appreciation Day in Missouri.

Law enforcement officers’ names added to the memorial wall this year along with Griffith include:

• Twenty-year Kansas City Police Department patrolman James Muhlbauer, 42, and his canine partner, Champ, who both died Feb. 15, 2023, in a motor vehicle crash caused by a motorist speeding 89 miles per hour who ran a red light. A pedestrian was also struck and killed.

• Kelly Rolando, 34, a Missouri Department of Corrections officer for eight years, was killed Oct. 23, 2023, in a head-on vehicle crash on the Highway 54 Bypass in Mexico, Mo., as he returned to the Northeast Correctional Center in Bowling Green after an assignment in Columbia.

• Jason Pulliam, 49, a unit manager for the Missouri Department of Corrections and a 27-year employee, died Oct. 15, 2021, after contracting the COVID-19 virus in the line of duty. His name is included in the memorial as a “historical addition” following a review of facts surrounding his death.