Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

Rest in Peace, Trooper Bryant. Your sacrifice is not forgotten.

Officer 11169

May 31, 2008

"The Badge"
He starts his shift each day
To respond to calls unknown.
He drives a marked patrol car.
A police officer he is known.
He's paid by the citizens' taxes
To make it safe on the streets.
But he usually has a second job
'Cause a waitress has his salary beat.
Now he doesn't know a holiday
'Cause he works all year round.
And when Thanksgiving and Christmas finally arrive
At his home he cannot be found.
He's cursed and assaulted often,
The one whos blood runs blue.
He seldom ever gets a thanks,
To some he's just a fool.
His friends are always other cops
'Cause people just don't understand
That underneath his badge and gun,
He's just another man.
He knows there might not be a tomorrow
In this world of drugs and crime.
And he gets so mad at the court system
'Cause the crooks don't get any time.
And each day when he leaves for work,
He prays to God above.
Please bring me home after my shift
So I can see the ones I love.
But tonight he stops a speeding car,
He's alone down this ole' highway.
It's just a little traffic infraction.
He does it everyday.
Well, he walks up to the driver's window,
And his badge is shining bright.
He asked the guy for a driver's license,
When a shot rang through the night.
Yes, the bullet hit its mark,
Striking the officer in the chest.
But the Department's budget didn't buy
Each officer a bullet-proof vest.
So he lay on the ground bleeding.
His blood wasn't blue - His blood was red.
And briefly he thought of his loved ones
'Cause in a moment the officer was dead.
In the news they told the story
Of how this officer had died.
And some who listened cared less,
But those who loved him cried.
Well, they buried him in uniform
With his badge pinned on his chest.
He even had his revolver,
He died doing his best.
Written By:
David L. Bell
Sergeant
Richland County Sheriff's Department
Columbia, South Carolina
Used with Special Permission of the Author
Copyright © 1999 - All Rights Reserved
and may not be duplicated without permission

Investigator David L Bell
Richland County Sheriff's Dept., Columbia, SC

August 6, 2007

Trooper Bryant:

May Your Soul Rest-in-Peace.

I think about Your murder from time to time. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like having a wife and children enroute to meet You for lunch, see Your patrol vehicle alongside a highway, walking up to say hello, only to find You shot to death. To have four additional officers die in a traffic collision enroute to Your funeral, just exasperated an already sad event.

For those fellow historians:

Trooper Bryant was murdered by Richard Wayne Snell. Snell was a white supremacist zealot and gunrunner who had already murdered a pawnshop owner in Texarkana (because he mistakenly thought that the pawnshop owner was Jewish), and tried to commit terrorism in a bomb plot. He di not recognize the authority of any Black who may have worn a badge. After shooting Trooper Bryant, Snell was later wounded and arrested in a shootout with police in Broken Bow, Oklahoma. Initially, many federal/state agencies believed that the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City was blown up in retaliation for Snell’s execution....

Maj M. B. Parlor
USMC / LAPD

July 5, 2007

Coincidentally, I had just watched the story of this young brave Trooper on The Discovery Channel's FBI Files. My heart and regards go out to the wife and children of Trooper Bryant for what they went through. No death is ever easy and every love one of any law enforcement officer taken from us is a true hero in their own right. However, to stumble across your own husband's and father's death while protecting and serving the people is just beyond comprehension. Trooper Bryant, you will never be forgotten sir and may you always watch over your family and law enforcement brethren from above. Rest in peace sir.

Cpl/1 Steven Rizzo
Delaware State Police

June 30, 2007

Rest in peace, Sir! You are not forgotten.

Police Officer

October 3, 2006

I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER LOUIS .I WAS A ROOKIE DEPUTY SHERIFF,WORKING FOR THE WASHINGTON COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPT.IN FAYETTEVILLE.LOUIS WORKED FOR THE FAYETTEVILLE P.D.
LOUIS HAD JUST GOTTEN OUT OF THE ACADEMY,AND WAS ADVISING ME ON HOW I SHOULD PLACE MY BULETTS IN MY SHELL LOOPS IN ORDER TO SHOOT FASTER WHEN I WENT THE THE ACADEMY.I NEVER FORGOT THIS WHEN I WAS ON THE FIRING RANGE.
THANKS LOUIS YOU ARE A GOOD FRIEND.
DON CAMP(RET)

ASST. CHIEF DON CAMP ( RET)
SALINA POLICE DEPT. OKLAHOMA

December 23, 2005

Bryant Family and Friends,

I never knew Trooper Bryant, I was about 7 yrs. old at the time he was taken away from you, but I adamantly respect the honor and courage it takes for a man or woman to be a State Trooper- working alone and covering hundreds of miles, pure dedication and selflessness. My apologies for your loss, and thank-you for the uniting of local and federal agencies in putting a temporary stop to further crimes- especially hate crimes. I've seen what assault rifles can do to people (I watched my friend, Off. Isaac A. Espinoza, die of massive wounds from an AK-47), and I wish that scene to be viewed by no one, and that pain to be felt by no one. God bless you and yours.

San Francisco PD

September 6, 2005

I had known "Louie" back when I was in high school. He was a Fayetteville police officer at the time. By the time I was old enough to work with him, he had left FPD and joined ASP. Therefore, I only got to work with "Louie" a couple of times. You have gone to a better place, my friend. Gone, but never forgotten!

Retired Sergeant Mark Hanna
Fayetteville, AR PD

February 28, 2005

May we never forget this Warriors sacrifice....May God Have given Peace to His Family, Fellow Troopers, and Friends...

Officer Debra Ross McFall
EAst Buffalo Twp Police Dept, Lewisburg, Pa.

July 6, 2004

Each day I read the ODMP. Today I read the story of your death. Every officer who gave his/her life for us need never be forgotton. Rest in peace, sir. You died a hero and America thanks you for your service.

03/22/04

Captain Robert W Cannon, Ret.
Vermilion Co, Il. Sheriff's Dept.

March 22, 2004