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Mahnomen County Sheriff Deputy Chris Dewey

18 August, 2010: 125 Patriot Guard stood the flag line in honor of Mahnomen County Sheriff Deputy Christopher Dewey, age 27 who died on August 9, 2010 – eighteen months after being wounded while responding to a disturbance call at a trailer park in the city of Mahnomen. Services were held at the Living Word Christian Center in Brooklyn Park and the flag line was established prior to the Visitation and Funeral services. Patriot Guard members silently watched as the ranks of law enforcement officers attending the service grew from a few dozen to over 2,000. The flag line stood down during the service and a secondary mission briefing was held to transition the flag line from the church to the Crystal Lake Cemetery in Minneapolis. Eight Patriot Guard members remained at the church to form a flag line near the hearse while Deputy Dewey’s remains were transitioned from the church to the hearse by a law enforcement Honor Guard. At the request of the immediate family, eight Patriot Guard motorcycles with 3x5 flags were given the honor of participating in the funeral procession from the church to the cemetery. Along the 11-mile procession, thousands of citizens lined the route to pay their respects to Deputy Dewey and his family. As the procession arrived at the cemetery and made the last turn towards the internment site hundreds of law enforcement squads, the hearse and family limousines were greeted by a corridor of American flags snapping in the breeze and Patriot Guard standing in their honor. The internment ceremony included a short service by a Police Chaplin, rifle volley, taps, bag pipes and a final roll call for Deputy 909 (Dewey’s radio call number)…...met only with silence..….a law enforcement tradition. Deputy Dewey’s watch had ended. This final roll call was transmitted over public safety radio frequencies statewide for all law enforcement officers to hear.

I want to thank all Patriot Guard members who attended the Visitation, Funeral and Internment services for this mission. Once again, we made a difference in the life of a grieving family. A special thanks to Tim Leonhardt for his leadership and assistance. Thank you also to those members who were able to assist with the procession. It was an honor to ride with you.

LEO Phil Pesheck - RCIC

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Phil Pesheck
Law Enforcement Coordinator
Minnesota Patriot Guard