GEORGETOWN, Del. - Memorials for fallen Patrolman Chad Spicer and fallen former Police Chief Harvey Gregg were placed back on the Georgetown Circle Tuesday.
The reinstallation followed a recommendation from the Georgetown Circle Advisory Committee. The project is being funded through a $30,000 appropriation in the town's bond bill.
Spicer's memorial was hit in November 2023, while Gregg's was hit in July 2024. Together, the two memorials totaled more than $114,000 in damages.
Spicer was killed in the line of duty in 2009. Gregg died in 1998 after sustaining a head injury, followed by a heart attack while directing a funeral procession on The Circle.
Georgetown Police Department Deputy Chief Lt. Joel Díaz spoke about seeing the monuments back in place.
"This is a solemn experience to get these monuments back where they belong. These monuments represent officers who gave their life. They sacrificed for this community, for the residents of Georgetown, for this police department," Díaz said.
Díaz also reflected on the loss of his friend.
"For us and for myself, it's just an emotional experience, a close friend. You can't even describe that loss. Some of us have used that to propel us in our career, and try to live our life, and do our career as he would have," Díaz shared.
Ruth Ann Spicer, Chad Spicer's mother, gives every new Georgetown police officer a pin with her son's badge number.
"They have to go to our house, they have to talk to her, and she pins them," Díaz explained.
Spicer also spoke about what the monument has meant to her family.
"My husband, when he was living, he would always ride around the circle. If anyone was watching or looking at the monument, he would holler out 'that's my son,'" Spicer said.
Spicer also reflected on Chad's recognition by the town.
"It just meant so much to know that the town recognized Chad for what he did and the day that he lost his life, and what he did for the town to protect. That's what their motto is always been, to serve and protect, and that's what he was doing," Spicer added. "It just means so much to have him here and that we can come up to the circle and sit with him just to be with him."
Díaz said he hopes people who visit The Circle will continue learning about the two officers.
"We want everybody for years to come when they are on The Circle that they read these stories, that they look at the names, get on social media, get on the internet, research it. I think that's how you maintain their memory and their legacy," Díaz shared.
Georgetown Police Chief Ralph Holm Jr. said the day holds significance beyond the police department.
"It means a great deal. Not just to the Georgetown Police Department, also the community, obviously," Holm said.
"Chad's family, Harvey Gregg's family, are very happy for this day, but even more than that, for our officers, to know that you're out there doing this job, and if something, God forbid, should happen, that we're not going to let your name die in vain. We are going to continue to remember we are going to do things so that the community doesn't forget," Holm added.
The town said new bollards will be added later to better protect the memorials, which are now placed deeper into The Circle.
"Hopefully The Circle will be a safer place, the monuments will be safer, the people in The Circle will be safer, so we look forward to those infrastructure changes coming soon, too, as well," Holm explained.
