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"Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski gave his life for us," Delaware County District Attorney G. Michael Green said. "You see, many of the criminals we prosecute have no respect for jurisdictional boundaries.
"Sgt. Liczbinski, in his way, in tracking down those who did that terrible thing, protected men and women in Delaware County from some future, equally horrible act that could have been carried out by those men," he said.
From 1902 to the present, 36 law enforcement officers have given their lives in service within the boundaries of Delaware County. The last county police officer to die in the line of duty was Dennis McNamara of the Upper Darby Police Department, who was shot to death on Jan. 30, 2002.
Yesterday's ceremony, held at Sacred Heart Church in Havertown and sponsored by the Delaware County Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation, honored Trooper Harold B. Rupert of the Delaware State Police, who died during a vehicular pursuit in Delaware County in 1962.
But with the death of Liczbinski still so fresh in the minds of so many, the two fallen law-enforcement officers - who sacrificed their lives decades apart - shared the spotlight.
Green noted that those who prosecute the law are granted something police officers who enforce the law are rarely allowed - reflection.
"For those . . . officers there is often little or no time to reflect," he said. "Like Trooper Rupert and Sergeant Liczbinski, there is only time for action. There is only time for selfless action."
Maria Kok, one of Rupert's five daughters, was just 18 months old when her father died. She said her family has attended "every memorial service every year" in Delaware since her father's passing. She was surprised to learn that Delaware County conducted similar services and that officials wanted to honor her father here as well.
"I'm very proud of him," she said. "It's just pride. Absolute pride."
Rev. Henry J. McKee, Sacred Heart pastor, said that God exists in those moments when a fallen officer's comrades surround his family in mourning.
"When we support one another, God is a part of that," he said. "God is with you in your compassionate response to tragedy."
At the beginning of the ceremony, 36 officers from departments across the county and from Delaware carried the 36 hats of their fallen comrades down the aisle. Toward the end of the service, each officer went to the altar and spoke the name of the deceased officer whose hat he carried.
Then, each looked down at the hats of the dead and a beautiful chime sounded one time.
"[I pray] that there are no names added to this list, that there is no additional bell to toll for anyone," Green said. *
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