In memory of Dyke A. "AJ" Coursen

Dyke A. "AJ" Coursen

January 24, 1966- January 8, 2002

UPDATE

The man who killed Dyke and Cpl. Tate has been found guilty of murder and has been sentenced to death in South Carolina. More stories and details coming soon.

January 9, 2002

I received a call at work today from my brother telling me about the tragic death of a friend of my family, Dyke Coursen. I was shocked at the news of what had happened, saddened that a friend died doing one of the things he loved, and angry at the way this all happened.

My heart goes out to the Coursen family, as well as to the other officer killed, Lance Cpl. Dana Tate. Puting your life on the line everyday for the safety of people in your community makes you a hero to all Americans.

January 11, 2002

I first met Dyke while I was still in high school, as my brother Jeremy had joined the LaGrange Fire Department, which Dyke was the Fire Chief. I recall him making "appearances" at my high school graduation parties, but more specifically was at my party at my dad's house. Dyke was working as a part time officer in Grafton and was working that day. I recall everyone wondering why the "cops" showed up and what we did wrong, not knowing he was invited...LOL

I got to know him more while I was working at the Subway in LaGrange during my first two years of college. By this time, he was working full time as a LaGrange Police officer. On nights when Dyke was working and my brother was doing his EMT training, they would meet at Subway, and being such a great person, I would hook them up with whatever they wanted. To this day, I can still remember exactly what he ordered every single time he came in... Tuna on white, no cheese, 2 strips of bacon, a little lettuce (enough to say lettuce was on there), a single line of mayo, black pepper, Fritos, and 2 M&M cookies.

Considering the "rap" that police officers receive, Dyke was very well liked and respected by people who had the honor of meeting him. He had a great sense of humor and was a lot of fun to be around. You could easily see why he had so many friends because he was so charismatic. All it took was a simple "Hello" and you were no longer a stranger to him....he was your friend.

In the summer of 1997, I had the opportunity to help my brother, Dyke and their friend Chuck coach my little brother's little league baseball team. For someone to volunteer his time when he did not have a child on the team shows what type of person he was. He loved the communities which he worked in and the people who lived there. He was a wonderful influence on those kids and was someone they could look up to as a role-model.

After that summer I started my junior year at Kent State and I moved away, so I only saw him a few times after that. I served as co-usher with Dyke at my brother's wedding in the fall of 1997 and had a blast. My whole family loved him and respected him...and now miss him. When I would come home for visits, I would see him parked somewhere in the police cruiser, whether on a dinner break or other, and have a chance to catch up on what had been going on in our lives.

The last time I saw Dyke was at my niece Haley's baptism in the summer of 2000, where he brought his son Cory. He was overjoyed to have his son and you could see how much he loved him. You could tell that Cory truly was his life at that time, especially with all of the little fireman toys Cory played with :) You could just see it in his face. It was 6 months later when Dyke accepted the job as a Beaufort County Sheriff's Deputy. I know that he was excited about that opportunity.

I am saddened by the fact that was the last time I got to see Dyke in person. I did not have a chance to say goodbye, but am glad to have had a chance to know him. I know he touched my life and many others.

January 13, 2002

I am leaving along with my brother to travel to South Carolina for the funeral service for Dyke in a few hours. I do not know what to expect, nor do I know the extent of my emotions when getting there, but I know it will be closure.

January 15, 2002

I got back early this morning from the funeral service in South Carolina. You can never imagine what the funeral service for an officer killed in the line of duty is like until you see one in person, but a fallen officer with as many friends as Dyke had, it was huge. It is impossible for me to try and explain what it was like. It was beautiful and sad at the same time. Beautiful in the sense that so many people showed up to show their support and love, but obviosuly sad because we lost a friend.

Just driving with the contingent from Lorain County to the church for the service was emotional enough, as so many people came down, including Lorain Country Sheriff's Deputies, an Ohio State Trooper, Avon Police, Avon Lake Polica, Oberlin Police, Elyria Police, Sheffield Police, LaGrange Police, Carlise Fire Department, LaGrange Fire Department, and the Mayor of LaGrange himself. This is how loved Dyke was and showed by the number of people traveling aound 750 miles to pay their final respects. The drive to the church was emotional. Beaufort City Police and South Carolina State Police were lining up at every intersection to prepare for the massive funeral procession to follow. I do not know who was patrolling the roads of South Carolina because so many of them were in Beaufort.

Upon arrival to the church an hour before the service, there were already hundreds of police officers standing outside on the streets, a small fraction of what was to come. Officers came on horseback, motorcycles and even by a large bus of the Charleston, SC police. Military police, Marines, emergency medical personnel, and even citizens of Beafort County were also in attendance.

The church was packed for the service, including some people lining the walls on the inside. Speakers were included outside for those who were unable to make it inside of the church...and there were aot of them. Dykes's step-daughter, Monique Ruiz, gave a eulogy that put me to tears. In many ways, I know how she felt. Some of her words mirrored my feelings about how I saw him and felt about him for the 6 years I knew him, though hers from a "family" side. The Sheriff Tanner of Beafort County also gave his eulogy for Dyke, or as they knew him, "AJ";. I know Sheriff Tanner lost one of his best, though I do not know his other 150 or so Deputies on that Department. The service ended with the singing of Mariah Carey's song "Hero", followed by "Amazing Grace" and the "Pledge of Allegience."

After the service was complete, all mourners retired to their vehicles for the procession. The procession was huge. I read in one of the local papers that it included 150 police cars (not including the "normal" vehicles) and upwards of 1,000 people. Along the sidestreet from the church to the main road, SC State Troopers blocked every single intersection on both sides of the streets and some people stepped out of their houses to watch. We were close to the front of the procession to starts, but along the route, more and more police ars joined in at the front. All we could see behind us were flashing lights from police cars. At major intersections, fire trucks (Dykes other love) blocked cars from accessing the procession route. At lunchtime in Beaufort, life came to a standstill. People came from their place of business to watch from the sifewalk and those who were in traffic when it was stopped for the procession, many got out of their cars to watch and pay their respects. A couple of particular people stand out to me along the way. One may standing outside of his car saluting the whole procession and another man along the side of the street holding his umbrella in one hand and holding the other hand on his heart as it went by.

Though we knew the procession would be long, we had no idea HOW long. More and more cars entered the funeral home where the burial was to take place, flowing in. So many, in fact, some had to park across the street. People filed in close in the pouring rain. Umbellas or not, it did not matter. After everyone had filed in, a horse drawn carriage carrying Dyke's casket came up the driveway and around , stopping in front of the open path to his gravesite, surrounded by police officers and other mourners. It included two 4 person color guard groups, one presenting the US and South Carolina flags and the other, US and Ohio flags. The Beaufort County Sheriff's Deputies served as pall bearers and carried his casket to the gravesite, bagpipes playing and with all officers at full attention, saluting as it went by.

One of the hardest parts of the whole service was the playing of "Amazing Grace" on bagpipes. This has always made me cry when hearing this on bagpipes, as it did when my best friend passed away two years ago. Upon the completeion of this song, a 21 gun salute ensued and was followed by the playing of "Taps" on a bugle. The final tribute was given to Dyke after the playing of "Taps" when the final call for Cpl. Coursen was given using his call sign "Alpha 35" over police radio by disaptch:

"Alpha 35, dispatch."

"Alpha 35, dispatch. Do you copy?"

"Assignment complete."

"Secure with God in heaven."

If you would like to read some news articles on this event, I have posted some informational links below. I have posted a few pictures that I have accumulated personally and from current newspaper articles of Dyke. You may view them by clicking HERE