Former Richlands Officer to be honored

By Amy Hunter/Bristol Herald Courier

Bernard Lankford has just one picture of his late father. It’s nearly 50 years old and was clipped from a newspaper before his death in 1962.

The 56-year-old Bristol Tennessee man said he has a couple of his dad’s old badges, patches and various trinkets, but most of what remains are memories.

But that will change soon.

In May, the late Bernard T. Lankford will be immortalized when his name is inscribed on a memorial in Washington, D.C., that lists every known law enforcement officer who gave the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.

“I’m a grown man. I’m 56, and I still get teary-eyed,” the younger Lankford said Monday about his father.

Bernard T. Lankford was a police officer in Richlands, Va., and was 41 when he died on Nov. 15, 1962. Doctors said in a newspaper account that he suffered a massive heart attack brought on by stress and physical exertion.

A woman arrested by Officer Lankford fled as he led her into police headquarters that day. The ensuing foot chase and apprehension was too much for his heart – he died at the hospital a few hours later.

“They never did tell me what happened,” the younger Lankford said. “The only thing I knew was there was a runaway or a shoplifter and he chased her down. There wasn’t no coverage or anything like that back then.”

According to the Law Enforcement Memorial Fund, more than 18,000 officers have lost their lives while on duty in the United States since 1792, when the first known officer was killed. It wasn’t until 1991 that a memorial was dedicated to honor them.

The memorial now has more than 17,500 inscribed names, and each year a candlelight vigil is held during National Police Week in May to add new names.

The memorial fund Web site indicates an average of 20,000 people attend the vigil each year. On May 13, Bernard T. Lankford’s name will be added along with the names of 357 others who were killed during the past year or long ago, like Lankford, and only now are being recognized.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Jane Jeffries, the oldest of the three Lankford children. “They didn’t have all these honors and awards back then.”

Jeffries, who also lives in Bristol, Tenn., was 16 when her father died. She remembers him as a good man whose quiet passion was to help those who were less fortunate.

“It was Mayberry RFD compared to today. Life was simpler,” she said of her childhood in Richlands. “Policemen didn’t have to be as detached as they have to be now.”

Agnes Lankford raised the three children as a single parent after her husband died. She still lives in Richlands, and said she and her family will not be able to attend the ceremony in Washington, but she is honored her late husband is to be recognized.

Richlands Police Chief William Puckett said his department would like to do something local for the family, but plans have not been solidified.

Meanwhile, Jeffries said she often thinks of her father.

“I think what I miss most is not being able to talk to him as an adult,” she said.

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