Casey Renee Brooks?s hero ? a 40-year-old prankster people called “Spanky” ? was her father.
“I wish I could have told him that before he left,” the 17-year-old said. “He was my best friend. Goofy. Like a kid.”
Brook?s father, Maryland Transportation Authority police Cpl. Courtney Brooks, was killed by a hit-and-run driver on New Year?s Eve as he set up traffic cones on Interstate 95 in Baltimore City.
A 13-year department veteran, Brooks was one of six police officers and firefighters, who died in the line of duty during the past year, honored Fridayat the 23rd annual “fallen heroes” ceremony at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens.
The solemn event ? with 25 honor guards, bagpipes, a 21-gun salute, hymns and “Taps” ? was Cathy Hedrick?s 16th. Her son, Kenneth, died fighting a blaze in Prince George?s in 1992. The support she received from other family members during the experience prompted her to take a position with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
“We just keep coming to support the other families,” Hedrick said.
Gov. Martin O?Malley ordered all flags at the State House and all state facilities flown at half-staff in remembrance of the six men from all parts of Maryland.
O?Malley and children of the men placed a wreath at a memorial honoring 54 members of the public safety community buried in the garden.
“These are our defenders,” O?Malley said. “They wake up every day, and they put their lives on the line, so each of us can sleep at night, knowing our own families are safe.”
Guest speaker and baseball Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson, whose father was a firefighter in Arkansas, quoted an inscription in the facade of the old Memorial Stadium.
The ball park was dedicated to war veterans but, Robinson said, the words apply also to fallen officers and firefighters.
“Time will not dim the glory of their deeds,” Robinson said.
THOSE HONORED
- Luke T. Hoffman, 24; Montgomery County Police Department, April 25, 2007
- Scott A. Wheeler, 32; Howard County Police Department, June 18, 2007
- Christopher S. Nicholson, 25; Smithsburg Police Department, Dec. 19, 2007
- Courtney G. Brooks, 40; Maryland Transportation Authority Police Department, Jan. 1, 2008
- Jarrett Dixon, 36; Baltimore County Fire Department, Jan. 12, 2008
- Donald W. Hubbel, 42; Baltimore City Fire Department, Feb. 1, 2008
