Building at Love Field Named In Honor of Fallen DPD Officer
Dallas city officials recently renamed a building at Dallas Love Field in honor of one of the five officers killed downtown during the July 7, 2016 ambush on Dallas police.
The Sergeant Michael Smith Law Enforcement building was dedicated Nov. 12. Smith was a U.S. Army veteran and had served with the Dallas Police Department for 27 years, including as a member of the DPD Love Field Unit.
He was shot in 2016 by a gunman who opened fire in the midst of a peaceful protest calling for racial justice. DART Officer Brent Thompson, Dallas Sr. Cpl. Lorne Ahrens, Dallas police officer Michael Krol, and Dallas police Officer Patricio “Patrick” Zamarripa also died in the ambush, the Dallas Morning News reported.
“The Sergeant Michael Smith Law Enforcement Building will be a beacon of light for those who are in need of service,” Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said.
Garcia, Dallas city councilmembers Gay Donnell Willis and Cara Mendelsohn, and Dallas director of aviation Mark Duebner were on hand to cut the ribbon making the dedication official.
“We thought there would be no better honor than to name this relatively new…building for Sgt. Smith,” Duebner said.
The Dallas City Council approved renaming the building in Smith’s honor in September.
“I think as a city, we probably need to do more to remember our public servants who were killed in the line of duty and I hope that we’ll continue to celebrate and honor them in special ways,” Mendelsohn said.
