Virginia Tech police officer to be honored at national memorial
Virginia Tech police Officer Deriek W. Crouse will be honored on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The annual unveiling ceremony will be held Thursday at 1 p.m.
Crouse’s name is being engraved on Panel 64-East, Line 27, of the memorial, along with two other officers killed in the line of duty in 2011. The officers are police Officer Terry Mae Lewis-Flemming of Albany, Ga., who died Oct. 28, 2011, and Master Patrolman Jefferson Gerald Taylor of Riverside, Mo., who died on June 3, 2011.
They are among 362 fallen law enforcement officers nationwide whose names are being added to the memorial this spring. This addition will make a total of 19,660 officers honored there.
During the ceremony, brief remarks will be given by Sherwood G. Wilson, vice president for administrative services at Virginia Tech; Crouse's family members and colleagues; and by Craig W. Floyd, chairman and CEO of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
"On this day, we'll honor Deriek, his life, and the contribution he made," said Virginia Tech police Chief Wendell Flinchum. "I am grateful for his service and deeply respect his commitment."
Crouse, 39, of Christiansburg, Va., was killed during a traffic stop on Virginia Tech’s campus on Dec. 8, 2011. He joined the Virginia Tech Police Department on Oct. 27, 2007, and served in the patrol division.
He received his law enforcement certification on Feb. 12, 2008, from the Cardinal Criminal Justice Academy. Crouse was trained as a Crisis Intervention Team officer, general instructor, firearms instructor, defensive tactics instructor, and most recently completed training for Advance Law Enforcement Rapid Response and mechanical and ballistic instructor.
Crouse was a member of the Virginia Tech Police Emergency Response Team since February 2011. He received an award in 2008 for his commitment to the department’s Driving Under the Influence efforts.
He formerly worked at the New River Valley Jail, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department, and was a U.S. Army veteran.
He is survived by his wife, five children and step-children, his mother, his father, and two brothers.
Dedicated in October 1991, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial is the nation’s monument to officers who have died in the line of duty. Unveiling Day takes place each April to symbolically commence the solemn process of engraving new names onto the memorial’s marble walls.
The 362 names added this spring will be formally dedicated on the memorial May 13, during National Police Week’s 24th annual Candlelight Vigil.
The memorial is located on the 400 block of East Street NW, Washington, D.C.
