By The Informer staff

Sedgwick County law enforcement officers who have fallen in the line of duty were honored with a ceremony at Wichita city hall on Friday, followed by a placing of a wreath at the Law Enforcement Memorial at Central and Main.  Derby Police Lt. Tim Brant (at left) and Clearwater Chief of Police Gene Garcia placed the wreath. Since 1871, 29 law enforcement officers in Sedgwick County have fallen in the line of duty, including 19 Wichita Police officers, eight Sedgwick County Sheriff’s deputies and one officer each from Derby and Clearwater. Det. Charles Delbert Meeks of Derby died on May 9, 1976 from injuries he received in a traffic accident four days earlier. Meeks was an avid member of the Derby Police Department’s shooting team and was on his way to the annual Peace Officers’ Convention and its shooting competition when the accident happened. The last law enforcement officer to die in the line of duty in Sedgwick County was Sheriff’s Deputy Brian Etheridge following an ambush attack on Sept. 28, 2009. Etheridge was a graduate of Derby High School.