SALUTING SGT. MOORE

By RALPH BARTHOLDT

Staff Writer

COEUR d’ALENE — Three years after his death at the hands of a gunman, Coeur d’Alene Police Sgt. Greg Moore will have a dedicated space, a physical space, made of water and rocks and a thin blue line.

When it is unveiled next month, three years and 10 days after Moore died, the K27 Forever Memorial will make a symbolic splash, not of fanfare, but of solemn remembrance.

The Coeur d’Alene Police Department along with other community leaders will assist with the unveiling of the K27 Forever Memorial at 4:30 p.m. May 15 at McEuen Park.

“This memorial will, in part, honor the sacrifice of Sgt. Greg Moore, who died in the line of duty,” police detective Jared Reneau said. “Coeur d’Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer and the Panhandle Parks Foundation have spent the last three years working with donors throughout the community to fund this special project.”

Moore’s family will be honored guests at the ceremony. Widmyer and Coeur d’Alene Chief of Police Lee White will be featured speakers.

The date of the ceremony is symbolic as well. It coincides with a proclamation signed by John F. Kennedy in 1962 designating May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day, to honor law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.

Architect Jon Mueller of Architects West said his idea for the K27 water feature — K27 was Sgt. Moore’s police call number — is inspired by the region. Just as Moore was a product of the region — he grew up in Walla Walla and attended the University of Idaho, where he earned a wildlife biology degree — the memorial’s three waterfalls are replicas of falls in the St. Joe, Clearwater and Coeur d’Alene forests.

At the same time, the falls represent respect, honor and remembrance, Mueller said. The largest of the three falls, a likeness of Fern Falls in the Coeur d’Alenes, has a single sheet of water plummeting 10 feet into a pool.

“We recreated that as the centerpiece, and for Greg,” Mueller said. “It’s significant for the public and the family.”

Mueller calls the water structure a passive place, not meant for interaction with the water, but to view it solemnly.

“We hope people will understand the significance of this. It’s not just sacrifice, but civil order, the coming together of all citizens,” he said. “We hope it’s viewed as beautiful and thought provoking as well.”

Widmyer, who worked closely with Mueller, said the memorial is a dedication to Moore and his family, but also to all law enforcement.

“We as a community remember those members of law enforcement across the country who have given their lives in the line of duty. We respect all past, current and future law enforcement who are at great risk in serving the public,” Widmyer said. “And we honor Sgt. Greg Moore, who gave the ultimate sacrifice in service of our community. We will never forget K27.”

Moore’s killer, Jonathan D. Renfro, was convicted of first-degree murder last fall in Coeur d’Alene’s First District Court. He is on Idaho’s death row, incarcerated at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution south of Boise.