Huntsville honors, remembers fallen HPD officer

HUNTSVILLE — Dozens of friends, family, officials and police officers gathered outside Huntsville Municipal Court on a rainy Wednesday afternoon Nov. 14 to honor the memory of fallen HPD Officer Keith Earle.

Earle suffered serious injuries in an on-duty car accident earlier this year on March 26 and later succumbed to those injuries April 9. The Huntsville Police Department dedicated a blue granite brick bearing Earle’s name and years served at the HPD Fallen Officers Memorial.

Officer Keith O’Neal Earle | CONTRIBUTED

Serving 26 years as a police officer in Huntsville, Earle spent his career serving and protecting the north precinct. HPD Chief of Police Mark McMurray commended Earle for his dedication and professionalism.

“Undoubtedly, [Earle] left a lifelong impression on so many here in the Huntsville area—young people and adults as well,” he said. “He was always a part of the Huntsville community. There wasn’t a time in anything that happened on the north precinct that you couldn’t get Keith’s opinion or find out some critical information on who the bad guys were who were involved in the situation.”

McMurray recalled a time when he was attempting to detain three teenagers with stolen goods but had to call for backup when they scattered in different directions. Earle responded to that call. With just one description, Earle was able to identify one of the three perpetrators, which quickly led to locating the other two.

“Sure enough, before long we had found the three people who had this bag of (stolen) items,” McMurray said. “[The parents of the teens] took care of that situation exactly like they should. That’s the kind of story Keith would participate in all the time out here on the street.”

City Administrator John Hamilton recognized Earle for his sacrifice at the ceremony as well.

“As a veteran myself … I recognize that there are many forms of service and many forms of sacrifice that really make our nation great,” he said. “Certainly, the service and the sacrifice associated with serving the law enforcement community is right at the top of that list.”

Hamilton said he and the rest of the community will “never forget” Earle and his services to Huntsville as a police officer.

“I don’t know that there’s a more important or a more profound promise that we could make than that,” Hamilton said. “Service and sacrifice have made our nation great. Officer Keith Earle is just one of many who have made those kinds of sacrifices, and we’re in a much better place because of his service. … We remember all the times that he has touched people’s lives and has made our community better.”

United States Attorney Jay Town, who lives in Huntsville, also attended the ceremony on behalf of the president and the Department of Justice. Like McMurray and Hamilton, Town praised Earle for his service and sacrifice, which he said are two virtues “too often lost these days.” He also thanked Earle’s family for allowing him and the rest of the ceremony’s attendees to celebrate Earle’s life and achievements with them.

“The cold couldn’t keep us away, the rain couldn’t keep us away, the dark of night couldn’t keep us away to be here with you because Keith Earle—he chose to become a police officer, he served honorably as a police officer, he died as a police officer, and he’ll be remembered forever as a police officer,” Town proclaimed.

The HPD Fallen Officers Memorial will not be the only memorial to bear Earle’s name. He will also be honored at the Madison County Law Enforcement Officers memorial at the courthouse, as well as the national memorial in Washington, D.C. in May.

McMurray also said the department has been receiving many boxes of equipment, donations, flags, plaques and other memorials honoring Earle since the accident occurred. He presented some of those items to Earle’s widow, Tarsha, at the ceremony. One of these items was a medal of honor from the American Police Hall of Fame, which will enter Earle into their national memorial in Titusville, Florida. Another gift to Tarsha was a quilt made by a woman named Donna Marsinick in Vermilion, Ohio.

Following the ceremony, McMurray escorted Tarsha to the memorial where they unveiled the brick bearing Earle’s name. She and many other attendees laid red roses on the brick.

Tarsha later thanked HPD, family and friends for their support as they joined together in remembrance of her husband.