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Peter Alan Grignon was generally a happy child.  His moody teenage years had highs and lows that were OK with the people around him.  He grew up to be a handsome and considerate adult.

He enjoyed life.  He had a desire to serve, to help others.  His jobs included lifeguarding at Kentucky Kingdom’s waterpark, stocking at Garden Ridge and a security guard at The Mall St. Matthews.

Peter began his career as a police officer as one of the last class to graduate as a Jefferson County Officer and the first to become an officer in the newly formed Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD).

He was an average to above average student at Eastern High School.  He continued his life’s ambition to join in law enforcement by graduating from Eastern Kentucky University’s School of Law Enforcement.

 He was considerate.  He liked people.  He liked to observe and make comments.  He disliked confrontation but definitely knew right from wrong.  Peter was honest.  He wanted the world to be a better place and to help make it that way.

Peter Alan Grignon was born in New Jersey on September 30, 1977.

Peter Alan Grignon was murdered on-duty on March 23, 2005 in Louisville.

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His birth anniversaries will come and go because the calendar says so.  He will celebrate no more birthdays.

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Peter met and married the love of his life.  Peter and Rebecca had worked together in security for a while. Peter wanted to wait until he joined the police force and completed probation before they wed. 

Two very wonderful days came about a year apart.  He became an LMPD police officer on March 21, 2003.  Peter and Rebecca were married on March 20, 2004. 

They had just returned from their first anniversary getaway to the Smokey Mountains.  Peter’s first shift upon returning began at 11PM on March 22, 2005.  His End of Watch (EOW) was on March 23, 2005 at University Hospital after he battled four fatal wounds.  His young body fought a battle that could not be won.

                                                                                                                         -2-

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Peter Alan Grignon.  A son. A brother. A husband.  A friend.  He loved his wife.  He loved his family.  He had a few true friends.  He had no enemies.

He learned to be tolerant early.  He learned of God’s promise through His Son, Jesus Christ.  Too soon, he earned that promise of eternal life.

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Peter cared for people.  Age, race, gender, religion were words that helped describe a person.  These were no barriers.  He showed compassion when appropriate.  He had a disarming smile.  Eyes that sparkled especially when he would set a trap and let you knew he “gotcha.”

A smile.  A laugh. Rare was it a hearty laugh.  Rarely a flash of anger but no grudges held. A nice guy.  Peter took the time to assess a person before befriending him or her.  Bright not brilliant. Good and helpful.

Peter made the world a better place just by being here.  Too short a time.

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Peter had enthusiasm about life and the things he did. He was inquisitive.  Reading was a chore.  Doing was energizing.  Peter was a planner.  He looked forward and weighed the pros and cons of actions and inactions. 

He was serious about serious things.  Things that did not matter did not matter.  Fun and laughter were good things.  Movies were to be seen and enjoyed, as many as possible.

Food that could be eaten with your fingers was much better than a sit-down dinner.  Seafood was Peter’s favorite.  Vegetables were not.

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Peter started out with a little hair.  As a youth, his head was topped with blonde hair.  Time changed that to light brown.  As a teen, he learned to experiment with hairstyles and colors.  He could talk his mother into shaving the sides, allowing him to go red or blonde or have a topknot in the front. Peter did that for fun.

Peter also enjoyed different facial hair designs.  A beard with or without a moustache would appear regularly.  Peter did not enjoy shaving, so different grooming styles allowed him the freedom and fun of being different.

Peter had eyes that defy being catagorized.  They started out blue, as do most babies.  Then they became hazel with brown flecks.  Distinctive and different from just about everyone.  They were Peter’s eyes.

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Peter had many smiles.  He could disarm an annoyed parent or diffuse an argument.  He could make you smile with his.  Peter would often curl his lip like Elvis and you knew he saw humor in something.

Peter had the whitest teeth.  His baby teeth were not the best since he drank too much juice and even had to have a front one capped.  As a teen, a dentist’s suggestion of braces was met with an immediate affirmative.  Peter was proud to wear his braces for the year and a half he had them.  His penchant for consuming huge quantities of juice or soft drinks continued into adulthood.

Peter had two scars of his face.  One from a bone the family dog, Candy, dropped on him. He was just a baby lying on the floor. Peter thought that these scars gave him character.

Peter loved animals.  Dogs were favored over cats but all were welcome.  He had a special keenness toward dolphins.  He relished his opportunity to swim with some dolphins while in Cancun.

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Peter loved the warm weather and the sun.  He would work at getting the darkest and best tan every summer.  When he was a lifeguard, he did not mind sitting in the chair or being in the blazing sun.  He was working on his tan.

Peter was lean and took care of himself.  Marriage agreed with him and he had added a few extra pounds that he was planning to take off starting in the spring of 2005.

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Peter died a hero.  Information has been given that Peter’s killer attempted to remove Peter’s gun from its holster.  Since Peter had thought about his and others’ safety, he had purchased a special holster that required two steps to remove the weapon from it.  Peter was blind-sided when he was shot and never had the opportunity to draw his own weapon.  The murderer could not remove Peter’s weapon thus, possibly, saving the lives of some of his fellow officers and innocent civilians.

Peter was also left-handed. This always caused some problems in getting writing done and using tools and things in this right-handed world.

Peter has been honored as a hero.  His badge, number 1995, has been retired never to used again.  He was posthumously awarded the Louisville Medal of Honor.

Peter’s name has been engraved on the fallen officers’ memorial in Louisville and will be added the wall honoring fallen law enforcement officers from across the nation in Washington, D.C. in May, 2006.

The LMPD Mounted Patrol added a new member to their group just before Peter’s death.  This horse is a mixture of thoroughbred and Clydesdale.  The LMPD changed the normal naming procedure and gave this new horse the name “Pete” in Peter’s honor.

The Kentucky Derby Festival begins two weeks before the race itself.   The largest fireworks display in the nation is the kick-off to the celebrations.  In 2005, on a bone chilling evening, the Thunder Over Louisville fireworks were dedicated to Peter’s memory.

The Second Division has placed a stone and plant outside the main entrance to Division headquarters.  The Second is where Peter was assigned at his EOW. There is a wall dedicated to his memory inside the headquarters.  There is also a street behind the building that has been named “Peter A Grignon Lane 216D” in Peter’s honor.  The "216D" was Peter’s call sign.

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Peter was seven years younger than his brother, Paul.  This age difference did impact upon their growing up.  They got along and enjoyed each other but did not do many things together as children. There were sports to be played on different teams.  But Halloween was a good time to team up to go trick or treating. 

Both boys enjoyed swimming.  Paul was a lifeguard for summer jobs and it followed that Peter became a lifeguard as well.  Peter looked up to his older brother.  He thought the world of Paul and wanted to be as self-assured and thoughtful as Paul.  Peter admired Paul.

It was only after both had been married and were becoming more settled in their lives, that the brothers began to draw closer.  This was understandable as the age difference became less of a factor as they entered their twenties.

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The pomp and ceremony of the graduation ceremony from the Police Academy was something that Peter loved.  The bagpipers, the mounted police and the new uniforms with all the equipment were trappings of the new world he was entering.

                                                                                                                         -5-

With the newly merged forces of County and City becoming one, the newly appointed police car had one of its first public exposures that day.  He was proud that he had joined the elite few to serve and protect his city.

Peter was honored as a hero at his funeral.  The only church large enough to hold the number of people coming to honor Peter was Southeast Christian Church. There were over 3,000 family, friends, fellow officers from many states and people touched by Peter’s life and death.

The ceremony was awesome. Paul honored his brother with emotional words.  Chief White read the eulogy written by Peter’s college roommate, Stephen.  If fact, Stephen and Peter were part of a small (3) Youth Group at St. John Lutheran Church.

The ceremony ended with bagpipers leading a procession out of the church with the way lined by saluting police officers paying respects to the man in the flag draped coffin.

The motorcade from the church to Cave Hill Cemetery was eleven (11) miles long.  The first police cars arrived at the cemetery gates at the same time the hearse prepared to leave the church.

The motorcade traveled west on I 64 with motorists heading east stopping and blocking those lanes of traffic to honor Peter.  At each entrance to the Interstate, fire trucks and EMS vehicles blocked traffic from entering the roadway.  Each vehicle had their firefighters standing at attention and saluting Peter.  Police officers and their cars from other jurisdictions were there to allow the procession to travel unimpeded and to allow Peter’s fellow LMPD officers participate in the procession and ceremonies.

Motorcyclists rode as outriders for the hearse and family limos. Two huge American flags flew for Peter. One flag was on an overpass on I 64 and the other above the entrance to Cave Hill.  People of all walks of life lined the route to show respect for their fallen hero.

There was a sea of blue at Cave Hill that day saluting their fellow officer.  The bagpipers played.  The trumpeters played their call.  The twenty-one gun salute echoed in the cemetery.

All of this occurred on a cold, windy and rainy Monday, March 28, 2005.

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Peter died on a Wednesday.  Two days later was Good Friday.  Obviously, Easter was that Sunday, the day before the funeral.

Jesus died for all mankind to overcome our sins and defeat death.  His promise of life everlasting and His victory over death held such awesome meaning that Easter.

                                                                                                                            -6-

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There are a few times which stand out as being especially important and happy to Peter during his last couple of years.

On September 3, 2002, Paul and Shannon were married in Cancun. It was a glorious week in the Mexican sun with vows exchanged near the beach.  Peter reveled in the warm waters and sun with his bride-to-be and family.  He enjoyed the Gulf and the sights with happy enthusiasm

Just before graduation from the Police academy, a “Family and Friends” day was held.  Peter showed his wife-to-be and his parents around the facilities.  He was part of the honor guard who raised and lowered the flag each day.  He felt that that duty was important and took special care that day to do it exactly right.

He showed the classrooms, the shooting range and the area where the group did physical training.  While he did not participate in the demonstrations, he commented on what happened and many of the things learned.

Then he had an opportunity to shine.  The driving course was a serpentine strip of asphalt with some blind curves and modest rises.  The four piled in the squad car and took off at extremely high speed with lights and siren blaring. Peter had always loved to drive fast and this was a delight to him.  And shine he did.

Graduation was held on a brisk sunny day.  March 21, 2003 was the date Peter had on his full uniform and took the oath to serve and protect his fellow citizens of Louisville. 

The Belle of Louisville was the scene of Peter and Rebecca’s wedding.  March 20, 2004 was a cool day with sporadic rain showers.  Their smiles were the only sunshine we needed.  The ceremony was a delight with Rebecca’s dad helping officiate. Paul gave a wonderful toast as Best Man.

Peter Alan Grignon had a life that was too short.  He made a huge difference in his world and filled his short time with an adventurous spirit a lust for life and love for his wife, parents, brother, family and friends.

Peter Alan Grignon will be…

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Love,

            Dad

November, 2005