On a chilly, gray spring evening last week, a group assembled on a hill in the Oxford Township cemetery to dedicate a headstone for a fallen law enforcement officer that should have been placed 90 years ago.
‘It’s hard for me not to get choked up about that,? said Oxford Village Police Sgt. Mike Solwold, who addressed the crowd wearing a crisp full dress uniform.
Oxford police officers, past and present, village officials, local military veterans and citizens gathered to pay homage to John ‘Jay? Gould, who served as the village’s nightwatchman until he was shot and killed by unknown assailants in the wee hours of Feb. 13, 1925.
Gould has the distinction of being the only law enforcement officer in this community to ever be killed in the line of duty. Though his killers were never identified and brought to justice, there are those who believe he was slain by Prohibition-era bootleggers, quite possibly members of the infamous Detroit-based Purple Gang, which had a hangout at Stony Lake.
Though the village paid for Gould’s funeral back then, the fallen officer slumbered in an unmarked grave until April of this year when a stone was finally placed.
‘Today, now and forever, John ‘Jay? Gould you have a gravestone,? Solwold said. ‘Thank you for your service. God bless you. And may you rest in peace.?
It was the tireless efforts of Solwold and retired Oxford Police Capt. Jim Malcolm that led to this long-overdue ceremony. They researched Gould’s history and reached out to the community for assistance in obtaining a headstone.
Donors to the headstone project included Oxford American Legion Post 108, former village attorney Bob Bunting, Oxford Fire Department and the Rotary Club of Oxford. Huntoon Funeral Home handled the process of ordering and placing the stone.
The dedication of Gould’s headstone coincided with National Police Week.
‘This week, officers (from) around this nation are gathered in Washington D.C. to honor and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice,? said village Police Chief Mike Neymanowski. ‘Most people don’t realize that on average, one officer is killed in the line of duty somewhere in this country every 58 hours.?
Washington D.C. is home to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. It consists of two curving, 304-foot-long blue-gray marble walls on which are carved the names of more than 20,000 officers who have perished in the line of duty in the United States since 1791.
‘And John ‘Jay? Gould was one of them,? Neymanowski said.
Despite these countless individual sacrifices, the chief noted the law enforcement profession finds itself being ‘criticized? these days to the point where officers are being portrayed as ‘heartless when we have to react to life-and-death situations.?
‘I want my officers here this evening to take note and please know that your service is highly valued by the citizens you serve,? he said.
Neymanowski told his officers that Gould ‘would want us to be diligent? and stay ‘focused? on their principal duty, which is ‘keeping the citizens of Oxford safe.?
During the prayer he led, Oxford resident Dave Gerber, chaplain for the village police, noted that Gould’s life ‘will not go unnoticed? and ‘will not be forgotten? because of the efforts of Solwold and Malcolm.
‘We have a stone and a story to remember (him) by,? he said.
In his prayer, Gerber expressed hope for the future and requested protection for all those who wear the badge.
‘May we work towards a day where we have no more line-of-duty deaths, where we can have peace,? he said. ‘Until that day, protect our men and women that serve us. Keep them safe. Keep them ever diligent.?
Following Gerber’s prayer, Cabar Feidh Pipes and Drums, a Scottish band based in Royal Oak, played a haunting rendition of ‘Amazing Grace? that echoed through the cemetery.
There can be no doubt that somewhere, John ‘Jay? Gould smiled and was able to rest a little easier.