Oskaloosa Reaches Out To Honor Fallen Police Officers

Levi Ritz poses with the 2 flags he and his wife Buffie helped to create in honor of the two fallen officers.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – Residents in Oskaloosa found ways to pay tribute to the officers slain in the nearby communities of Des Moines and Urbandale this week.

The two officers were killed in “ambush” style by a suspect who was later apprehended and now faces charges in connection with the murders.

Those crimes shocked Iowa, and in Oskaloosa, the community found ways to share their sorrow.

The Oskaloosa Bandstand has glowed blue since officers, Sgt. Anthony “Tony” Beminio of the Des Moines Police Department and Justin Martin of the Urbandale Police Department, were killed on November 2, 2016.

Oskaloosa City Mayor and Oskaloosa City Manager Michael Schrock released a statement about the memorial on display. “In an effort to show our support and respect for these two fallen officers, as well as all of our men and women dedicated to serve and protect, the lighting for the bandstand in the city square park will be changed to blue. This change in lighting will continue each night until Sgt. Anthony Beminio and Officer Justin Martin have been laid to rest.”

The Oskaloosa High School Choir recorded the National Anthem, along with an email composed by two of the students to the Des Moines and Urbandale police departments.

“To all metro police departments affected by the events on Wednesday, November 2nd, 2016, the Oskaloosa Choirs would like to offer our deepest condolences to you and your families. We all wanted to find a way to reach out to you and help you in this hard time. We sought to do this in the best way we know how, through music. Attached to this email you will find a recording of our National Anthem sung by our choirs here at Oskaloosa High School. We decided to sing the National Anthem because it represented the service and ultimate sacrifices these brave men demonstrated throughout their careers. They may not have been part of our direct community, but they are a part of the Iowa family we all belong to. We hope this brings you some comfort in this hard time. Oskaloosa, Iowa is only a small part of the nation that is here to support you.

Thank you for all you have done and continue to do for the community. Everyone affected by this tragedy is in the thoughts and prayers of the choir members, the staff, and the other students at Oskaloosa. We wish you the best throughout this hard time.

With deepest sympathy,
The Oskaloosa High School Choirs.”

You can hear their recording by clicking on the following LINK – http://oskaloosa.k12.ia.us/media//national_anthem.mp3

For one area police officer and his wife, the murders compelled Levi and Buffie Ritz to create a pair of wood flags. Those wood flags pay tribute to each officer, and their creation helped to bring some amount of healing to the owners of the Ritz Board.

Levi Ritz, a police officer in Ottumwa, commented that “they’re my brothers.”

Ritz said that no matter if locally, in the state or the nation, “we feel it.”

“As a small token of my appreciation, not only for them, but their departments and everything they’re going through, I wanted to donate to each one of those in honor of both the officers that were murdered.”

“You never want to wake up and see anything like this ever,” said Ritz. “You always think, it’s never going to happen here.”