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Brockmeyer honored by community

Posted November 02, 2016 11:00 pm

By Pete Spitler Editor@heraldtrib.com

EDITOR'S NOTE: See more coverage of Thursday's funeral services and procession in the Herald Tribune's Nov. 11 print edition

James Brockmeyer's longtime dream of becoming a police officer lasted only 10 months.

The 22-year-old Chester Police Department officer and volunteer firefighter with the Chester Fire Department was fatally injured last Friday night while attempting to pull over a 2006 Pontiac G6 driven by 34-year-old Jason Michael Stoker.

During the pursuit, Brockmeyer's squad car ran off the roadway and overturned, coming to rest on its top.

Brockmeyer was pinned underneath the vehicle and after extrication by his fellow firefighters, he was taken to Memorial Hospital of Chester.

With a helicopter on standby to take him to a regional hospital for further treatment, Brockmeyer succumbed to his wounds at 11:20 p.m., nearly an hour and a half after the accident occurred.

"As a mayor, there's not a worse phone call that I could get than the one I got (last Friday)," said Chester Mayor Tom Page. "I feel for his family and his girlfriend and I feel for our police department because they've all taken it very hard."

Chester Police Chief Ryan Coffey said Brockmeyer was "a truly dedicated police officer" who was always in good spirits and inquired about what was going on throughout the community, even when he was off-duty.

"He just wanted to know, he wanted to be active, he participated in just about every aspect," Coffey said. "He had his special interests, of course, but he participated in just about every aspect of our department."

One of the founding members of the CFD's Explorer program at age 16, Brockmeyer was a 2012 graduate of Chester High School, where he played football, basketball and baseball, and became an official volunteer fireman at age 19.

This year, he had moved up to No. 17 at the CFD, which assigns numbers 1-25 for its firefighter roster. The lower the number, the more experience and seniority the firefighter has.

"He was an all-around dependable guy," said Chester Fire Chief Marty Bert. "When I wanted something done, I could depend on him.

"He was very dependable and very reliable. When we brought the kids to the firehouse, he volunteered his time out there."

Each October, the CFD conducts its Fire Prevention Month activities, which includes tours and fire safety presentations at the firehouse for area children.

Brockmeyer was a regular participant in those presentations, demonstrating to the children what a firefighter looks like both in and out of their equipment.

This was done so that the children would not be afraid and hide should firefighters be called to their house.

"James told me he was going to the police department and we joked around about that," Bert said. "He told me 'I could see myself being a police officer for the rest of my life.'

"He told me he could fit in real well with the police department and he did."

Hundreds of people, including friends, family and fellow officers, attended a vigil for Brockmeyer held at the Cohen Complex last Saturday, less than 24 hours after the accident occurred.

The vigil was to allow the community to pay its respects to the fallen officer and what he did for the city.

Pictures and other mementos of Brockmeyer were displayed on a makeshift haybale memorial as people lit candles and prayed for the Brockmeyer family.

On Sunday, Chester Recreation Director Patti Carter and a group of volunteers hung ribbons throughout the city in honor of Brockmeyer.

A temporary memorial was set up outside Chester City Hall earlier this week.

"His personality meshed well with the other staff," Coffey said. "I think he had, in general, the ability to make friends very easily.

"I not only got compliments about him within the staff as far as interpersonal relationships, but also within the community. He got lots of accolades for the work that he did."

Brockmeyer is survived by his parents, Donald and Dixie Brockmeyer, sister Megan Brockmeyer, fiancee Lauren Hoops, maternal grandmother Joleen Bowen and many aunts, uncles, cousins and brothers in law enforcement and firefighting.

His full obituary is included in the Nov. 4 edition of the Herald Tribune, on newsstands now.

Funeral services for Brockmeyer were held Thursday at CHS's Colbert Gymnasium, with a funeral procession extending 28 miles long and including 285 vehicles.

Interment is in St. John Lutheran Cemetery in Chester.

Combined with Wednesday's visitation, also at Colbert Gymnasium, more than 80 agencies paid their respects to the fallen officer and firefighter.

Earlier Wednesday, area children walked to Chester City Hall and placed flags at Brockmeyer's memorial at city hall.

Last Sunday, a moment of silence was held for Brockmeyer prior to the Chester Freshman Stingers' playoff game against Dupo.

According to Stingers board member Aaron Runge, other similar gestures of respect occurred at playoff games across the Southwest Illinois Youth Football Conference.

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