Dallas officials on Thursday unveiled the city’s first pair of police and fire-rescue memorial street toppers, created as part of an effort to better remember first responders who died in the line of duty.
The ceremonial markers — which have the first responder’s name, rank and end-of-watch date — have been in the works for years and the Dallas City Council approved the program in August.
Officials identified more than 160 first responders who’ve died in the line of duty since at least 1892. They’ve said they’re working with surviving family members to install toppers on top of street signs near where each person spent their final moments, starting with the earliest deaths.
The first two were installed Thursday within about two blocks of each other in the Deep Ellum area.
One topper — now at the corner of Elm and North Hall streets — honored Dallas police Officer William H. Riddell, 55, who was fatally shot June 17, 1892, while trying to serve a warrant on a man with a weapon. He’d been with Dallas police for three years and was survived by his wife and seven children. City officials worked with his distant relatives, who appeared at a ceremony unveiling the topper before it was installed.
The second topper at Main and South Walton streets was placed to memorialize Dallas Fire-Rescue Firefighter John Dardeman Jr., 30, who was killed March 28, 1925 when a car crashed into his fire truck, pinning him between the vehicles as he worked an active fire scene. He was survived by his mother, two sisters and three brothers.
“We are proud of the work our first responders do each and every day to keep our residents safe,” Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert said in a news release this week.
“We are honored to commemorate those who have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty and to celebrate the legacy of their commitment to safety for decades to come.”