Brighton Police Memorial - Brighton, CO
Posted by: 
Outspoken1
N 39° 58.388 W 104° 47.007
13S E 518491 N 4424797
Installed in 2011, this Police Memorial features the symbols of lions as protectors.
Waymark Code: WMF58M
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 08/25/2012
Views: 5
"The Brighton FOP and Brighton Police Department, with the support of the Brighton City Council, have been working toward erecting a memorial since 2006. In May 2010 the foundation was poured. Dedication was held on June 1, 2011 at 3:00 pm.
In 2003 the Brighton Police Department began to rediscover it's past. Several historic photos and news clippings of officers were placed around the new police building. It was during 2003 that we learned that a Brighton Night Marshall had been murdered in the line of duty on Friday, March 6, 1908. James Delmar Ellis was shot at about 0220 hrs when he found three men burglarizing the Brighton Post Office. It was Ellis' second week on the job when he was fired upon and returned fire injuring one of the suspects. After the exchange of gunfire, Ellis walked about 20 feet to the telephone office where they called the town doctor. At about 0250 hrs the three suspects fled on the Union Pacific freight train to Denver. At 0424 hrs Ellis was placed on the Union Pacific passenger train to Denver and died while en-route. Three men were located and arrested in Erie, CO and Omaha, NE but there is no record of subsequent convictions. Ellis is now buried at the historic Riverside Cemetery in Denver. Night Marshall James Delmar Ellis was born in Ft. Lupton, CO and left behind a wife and two small children.
In 2004 Brighton Lodge President Mark Kohn, Vice-President Mike Payne, Police Chief Clint Blackhurst and Assistant to the Chief Richard Kelly went to Washington DC to see James Delmar Ellis' name placed on the National Law Enforcement Memorial. During the trip they decided the Brighton Police Department and Brighton FOP should commission a memorial for fallen officers. The Brighton FOP and Brighton Police Department with the support of the Brighton City Council have been working toward that goal since 2006." (from (
visit link) )
The monument reads "In Valor There Is Hope." The following words are inside the circular memorial - RESPECT HONOR VALOR RESPECT HONOR VALOR. The brickwork on the rear of the memorial symbolizes protection, day/night, safety/shelter and rebirth/renewal. There is an eternal light that illuminates the interior 24 hours a day. Two bronze lions greet visitors as symbols of the protective nature of the Police force.