Four who died in line of duty honored at Ohio Peace Officers Memorial Ceremony
Joined by members of the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission and law enforcement officers from across the state, Attorney General Dave Yost gathered on Thursday with the families of four peace officers who died in the line of duty last year to honor the service and sacrifice of Ohio’s fallen heroes.
“There is evil loose in the world, and someone must stand and fight against it,” Yost told those attending the 38th Ohio Peace Officers Memorial Ceremony in London. “That’s the mission for more than 31,000 heroes across this state.”
Presiding over the annual ceremony for the final time as attorney general, Yost reflected on the 36 officers who have sacrificed their lives during his tenure, which began in January 2019. He challenged the modern reluctance to use the word “warrior,” describing law enforcement as “warriors for the good,” who put their lives on the line to fight evil.
“Sometimes, one of those warriors for the good does not come back from the fight,” he said. “Last year, in Ohio, four of them didn’t come home. Our hearts ache for their families and colleagues.”
Their names are forever engraved on the Ohio Fallen Officers Memorial Wall – a solemn and sacred presence on the grounds of the Ohio Peace Officers Training Academy – which bears the names of 844 Ohio peace officers who since 1823 have sacrificed their lives in service to the public.
The eternal flame, a poignant reminder of the risks that peace officers face every day, still burns at the center of the memorial.
The four peace officers memorialized this year are:
Deputy Larry R. Henderson Jr., Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office
Deputy Henderson was a “Marine through and through” who served his country and his community until his final day. After a four-year stint in the Marine Corps, he spent 33 years with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, holding many of the most dangerous jobs in both endeavors.
Within days of retiring from the sheriff’s office in December 2024, he was back working special duty.
“Larry had a calling to this uniform,” Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey said. “That’s the only reason you continue to stay in this profession after you’ve retired.”
Deputy Henderson died on May 2, 2025, after being run down by a motorist while working special detail for the University of Cincinnati’s graduation.
He was 57, married, the father of five grown children and a budding foster father to two infants.
Deputy D. Weston Sherrer, Morrow County Sheriff’s Office
As early as the first grade, Weston Sherrer knew what he wanted to do when he grew up.
“My big dream is to be a policeman,” he declared in a class assignment 25 years ago. “I want to catch the villains, and I’m willing to risk my life for the people in the United States.”
Deputy Sherrer, it turned out, had not only the desire to work in law enforcement but also the courage and temperament. His ability to connect with people – to make them feel heard – fueled his success with the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputy Sherrer was fatally shot on Memorial Day last year during a domestic-violence call near Marengo.
He was 31 and had just marked his fourth year with the sheriff’s office, his only law enforcement job.
Officer Phillip C. Wagner, Lorain Police Department
Officer Wagner was a fierce protector — of his family, first and foremost, but also his country and his community.
“Phil’s identity was father, husband, SWAT operator, cop,” said Lorain Police Officer Richard Fadenholz, a colleague and close friend. “He was a very big family man.”
Office Wagner loved God, too, and was increasingly finding “peace and rest through his relationship with Jesus,” his pastor said.
He died on July 24, 2025, the day after he and another patrolman were ambushed by a gunman as they ate lunch in their cruisers. Officer Wagner was 35, a husband and a father of three children.
Before entering law enforcement, he served four years in the Marines, including a deployment to Afghanistan. He was the first Lorain officer to die in the line of duty since 1944.
Trooper Nicholas P. Cayton, Ohio State Highway Patrol
Wherever he went, whatever he was doing, Nick Cayton seemed to make a favorable impression.
“He had such a knack for making people feel welcome,” childhood friend Brent Tharp said. “He was a magnet — that’s just who he was.”
His charisma, intelligence and quick wit served him well throughout life – during a seven-year stint in the Ohio Army National Guard, college at Youngstown State University, training with the State Highway Patro and beyond.
Trooper Cayton, a 13-year veteran of the patrol, was killed on Oct. 16, 2025, when his cruiser was struck by a Mack truck in Canfield while he was helping the driver of a disabled tractor-trailer.
He was 40, married to his high-school sweetheart, the father of two children, a devoted family man and a true public servant.
“Know that the legacies of Nick, Larry, Weston and Phil will live on, through you and through us, our service and our remembrance, and engraved in stone here in the place,” Yost said.
Six historical honorees who died between 1872 and 1956 also were recognized at the ceremony and memorialized on plaques presented to their respective agencies:
- Beavercreek Township Constable John W. Fogwell, who was shot and killed while attempting to serve a warrant in 1872 (plaque presented to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office).
- Five Ohio Division of Wildlife officers who died on duty between 1938 and 1956: Thomas H. Bayless, Lon W. Boring, Lorin B. James, William J. Minyoung and Grover C. Sanderson.
Ceremonial units from dozens of Ohio law enforcement agencies participated in today’s ceremony, with a rider-less horse provided by the Columbus Division of Police serving as a compelling symbol of the lives lost.
For more information on each officer’s life and legacy, visit the Fallen Officers Memorial webpage on the attorney general’s website.