In the history of the city of St. Joseph, just two police officers have ever been killed in the line of duty. Deputy Public Safety Director Steve Neubecker says the first of those, 23-year-old Patrolman Francis LaMunion, will soon be honored nationally.
“It is my honor to inform you that the name of Francis William LaMunion, end of watch June 23, 1927, of the St. Joseph, Michigan Police Department, has been approved for inclusion in the National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial in Washington, DC,” Neubecker told the St. Joseph City Commission at its most recent meeting.
The formal dedication will be May 13 at the 32nd annual candlelight vigil during National Police Week. LaMunion was trying to stop a speeding motorcyclist when he was in a crash with a delivery truck at the corner of Ship and Court streets. He was rushed to the St. Joseph Sanitarium the next day after initially being released from the scene, and doctors performed an emergency surgery, finding every organ had been torn out of place. Local historian Chriss Lyon worked for two years with the St. Joseph Department of Public Safety to get LaMunion’s name added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial
