When Joan Prothero visits the memorial for fallen Baltimore County police officers in Towson, she always leaves a few pennies.
Her son, Bruce Prothero, is the fifth of seven names etched in the granite stone, commemorating county officers killed in the line of duty.
Bruce, she said, loved collecting pennies until the day he was fatally shot in an attempted robbery of a Reisterstown jewelry store in February 2000.
“We always take his pennies to him,” Prothero said. “And whenever we find them, we know Bruce is throwing them back down from heaven to us.”
But accessing the memorial, perched on a grassy knoll sandwiched between the county?s new and old courthouses, isn?t always easy. Prothero said she needs help maneuvering the hill and icy patches, and even then, a thick concrete wall keeps her from getting close to the stone itself.
Even the department?s honor guard has a tough time placing wreaths near the memorial on the anniversary of each officer?s death, said retired police Col. Dennis Robinson, who described their strategy as a “side step, like a skier would.”
Robinson spearheaded a private fund drive to renovate the memorial, a $172,000 effort that will include a landscaped and lighted pathway with a railing, an eight-foot plaza with granite stones and two granite benches.
Best of all, he said, the memorial will be ground-level.
“These guys deserve nothing but the best,” Robinson said. “I equate it with military service. Both are doing it for peace and tranquility in communities.”
Robinson, whose son, daughter and son-in-law are all county police officers, was hand-selected for the project. Robinson said he knew each man listed on the memorial ? and particularly remembers the death of Bruce Prothero.
The shooting happened on Robinson?s last day as commander of the county?s western patrol division.
“He was an integral part in assisting the family in getting through those very difficult times,” said Cole Weston, president of the county?s police union. “He was the natural choice for the job. He?s second to none.”
Construction on the project is underway and is expected to be complete in May ? in time for an annual memorial service.
And more pennies.
The fallen
» Ofc. Edward Kuznar, December 1969
» Ofc. Charles Huckeba, July 1977
» Cpl. Samual Snyder, August 1983
» Ofc. Robert W. Zimmerman, November 1986
» Sgt. Bruce Prothero, February 2000
» Ofc. John Stem, October 2000
» Sgt. Mark Parry, January 2002
