NEWPORT NEWS, Va.— The Newport News Police Department is remembering 12 of their own.
An event to honor fallen officers who gave their lives serving their communities took an interesting twist Thursday night when the Newport News Police Department showed a never-before-seen bodycam video of officers responding to the Jan. 6 shooting at Richneck Elementary School.
That day is one the community will never forget.
The snippet of the video is only a glimpse of what NNPD Chief Steve Drew wanted people to see. Officer Clark Carter, one of the officers who led the kids to safety remembers it like it was yesterday.
"Our goal was to give [the kids] something that would take their mind off of what just occurred. My idea was to pretend we were riding motorcycles, and I got all the kids to put their hands up and pretend they were riding motorcycles," he said. "We were revving our engines and rolling down the hallways. It seemed to help, it took their mind off of what occurred and they were just playing a game."
Carter says the pressing situation took hours to lead the kids from their classrooms to the gym.
"It was nerve-wracking and we knew we had to get there so we can protect the kids," said Carter.
Carter, who was at Thursday's event at Calvary Chapel Church, said the incident hit close to home for him.
"I am one of our active threat instructors. It's personal to me because I have kids who go to school in this city, and I want somebody to respond the way I would respond to save their child to save mine" said Carter.
Incidents like the one at Richneck is a harsh reminder of the dangers that police say officers face every day on the job.
"It's hard for me to put in words the things that officers see today. Things I wish they never have to respond to," said Chief Drew.
The department has lost 12 officers since 1919. The most recent was Officer Katie Thyne, who lost her life in 2020 after a traffic stop.
Friends, family, and fellow NNPD officers gathered to remember the 12 who were killed in the line of duty. Twelve portraits with roses were dedicated to each fallen officer.
But for the job itself as a law enforcement officer, Carter shares a message.
"We're not always going to get it right, but our number one goal is to protect our community," said Carter.
