Unsung heroes
Family of fallen officer says police memorial needed
By Cindy Yurth
Tséyi' Bureau
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(Times photos - Donovan Quintero)
William Yazzie of Canyon de Chelley plays taps with his flute during an honor run held for the late Navajo police officer Samuel A. Redhouse Sunday in Lukachukai, Ariz.
Sgt. Alfreda Wagner, from the Chinle Police District, hugs Elizabeth Redhouse, mother of fallen police officer Samuel A. Redhouse Sunday during an honor run at her home in Lukachukai, Ariz.
To Nathan Redhouse, the irony was inescapable.
If his brother had died while serving in the Marines, his casket would have had a hero's welcome. There would have been a motorcade, a huge funeral studded with tribal dignitaries, a plaque for the family, maybe a posthumous medal.
But Samuel Redhouse survived his military tour. It was a civilian's bullet that felled him on Feb. 17, 1997, right here on the Navajo Nation.
He was just another tribal policeman doing a dangerous job. His death was headlines one week, forgotten the next.
At least, that's how it seemed to his elder brother.
Redhouse waited for the tribe to bestow some kind of honor on his sibling, whom he considered as much a hero as any veteran. He was shocked to learn the Navajo Department of Law Enforcement had no protocol for honoring its fallen.
The sudden death of 34-year-old Samuel took a toll on his close-knit family in Lukachukai, Ariz. Over the years, Nathan Redhouse watched helplessly as his parents' health declined.
"I felt like, as the oldest son, I should be doing something," he said. "But I didn't know what."
About six months ago, it hit him. It wasn't too late for Samuel to have the memorial he deserved.
"The first person I went to was my mother," Redhouse recalled. "Without her blessing, it wasn't going to happen."
Elizabeth Redhouse thought it was a good idea, and so did Samuel's father, Ray. Even Samuel seemed to give his blessing.
"He came to me in a dream," Redhouse said. "I was talking to him just like I'm talking to you. It was very real. I felt at peace after that, like this was the right thing to do."
Sergeants Daren Simeona and Emmet Yazzie at the Chinle Police District agreed. And so it was that Sunday, 11-and-a-half years after he died, that Samuel got his motorcade, courtesy of Nathan Redhouse's motorcycle club, Indigenous Iron.
Fallen warriorsNavajo Nation Police officers killed in the line of duty since 1975:
Also killed in the line of duty on the Navajo Nation:
(Source: Navajo Department of Law Enforcement) |
And his big memorial, with over a hundred people including Vice President Ben Shelly in attendance. And a feast at the Chinle Chapter House. And posting of colors by his fellow veterans. And a plaque for the family from the Chinle Police District.
"I feel relief," Redhouse said afterward. "I hope it's a relief for my whole family."
But Nathan Redhouse doesn't want it to end with his brother.
"This isn't just about Sam," he said as a congenial group of bikers and police chowed down at the chapter house, sharing memories. "It's about all the peace officers who serve on the Navajo Nation. We need some way to remember them, some place for their families to go."
With the support of the police department and other tribal officials, Redhouse is collecting donations for a peace officers' memorial. He envisions it being at Toyei, where Navajo Nation police officers train, although he hasn't obtained formal permission yet.
"I see it as an enclosed, protected place," he said, "Somewhere where families can go and pay their respects, grieve if they need to."
Many people at the memorial service seemed to think it was an excellent idea.
"It's the least we can do for them," said Richard Malone of New Mexico's Office of Medical Investigations, who has investigated the deaths of several peace officers in the course of his career.
Leonard G. Butler, who was Navajo Nation police chief when Redhouse stood his last watch, agreed.
"We've lost a number of officers, and they haven't been properly recognized or memorialized," he said. "I see it as a sacred duty."
Tom Lujan, a Bernalillo County sheriff's deputy who is president of the New Mexico Chapter of Iron Crew MC, a motorcycle club for law enforcement officers, said he was surprised to learn the Navajo Nation doesn't have an honor protocol in place for fallen officers.
"Our club does honor rides all over the country, so I thought all police departments had something," he said. "We'd be glad to help Arizona or the Navajo Nation establish an Iron Crew chapter, if they want."
But Redhouse said Indigenous Iron will shoulder the motorcade responsibility, thank you very much.
"If any family wants us to ride for their loved one, all they have to do is call us," he said. "We'd be honored to do that."
The club has also agreed to help Redhouse continue fundraising for the memorial. Donations may be sent to Nathan Redhouse, P.O. Box 3576, Chinle, AZ 86503.