The constant smile worn by Sgt. Todd May is gone but not forgotten.
May, a Monongalia County sheriff’s deputy, was killed in the line of duty Feb. 18, 2012, during a police pursuit in Greene County, Pa. He was 41 years old.
On Friday, friends, family members and the law enforcement community gathered at the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department to honor May’s life.
“I’m just sad that he’s gone, but we’re blessed that we had him,” said Frankie May, Todd’s brother, during the ceremony.
A jury found 36-year-old Jerod Green guilty of third-degree murder in May’s death. Green was drunk when police determined he intentionally rammed May’s cruiser on I-79 in Greene County, Pa. Green is set to be sentenced Feb. 19.
Sheriff Al Kisner held back tears as he fondly remembered May.
“It’s a hard time for Todd’s friends and family and all of us who knew him and loved him, for all of us who have something happen to us every day that makes us think of him,” Kisner said. “That, to me, is the ultimate honor to Todd. For somebody to say ‘how would he handle this, how would he react in this situation.’ Let me be the person he trained me to be.”
The training room at the Sheriff’s Department will soon be renamed after May, with a special tribute signed by each deputy. A national law enforcement memorial will also have May’s name on it this year.
“What happened to Todd is tragic. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon. We lost 126 officers in this country last year; we lost three in West Virginia,” Frankie May said. “Next time you see an officer or run into an officer, realize they’re a human being, they have a family, and they’re just trying to earn a paycheck and do what’s right.”