SPARTANBURG, S.C. – It is National Police Week and law enforcement organizations all across the country are remembering the officers who made the ultimate sacrifice, including in the Upstate.

Each year the Spartanburg Police Department recognizes their fallen officers.

“Our hearts are sometimes heavy when we think about these individuals, but other times we smile when we think about the joy they brought to our community,” Major Art Littlejohn told a small crowd gathered at Spartanburg Police Department.

Different officers read the names of the fallen to the crowd, those names included:

  • Patrolman William Harold Frey
  • Patrolman Thomas Fox Abram
  • Master Police Officer Jason Gregory Harris


“We remember them each year, (so) that they are not forgotten,” Littlejohn said. “This is something we wish would never happen but when it does we have a responsibility and obligation to keep their legacy going.”

Susan Harris attended the memorial. Her son, Jason Harris, died in 2017 of injuries he sustained in a motorcycle wreck while on patrol.


“I remember him every single day and it’s nice to know that they remember him at least one day out of the year,” Harris said.

She said her son left an impact on the community he served.

“He was wonderful to the public, he was a good police officers far as I know, he was just a hard worker, and he never met a stranger and anybody that he’d come across that needed help he would help them,” she said.

Law enforcement officers never know what the next call will hold but that is the risk were told they are willing to take to keep the community safe.

“Everyday when we leave our families to come to work that there is danger involved but this is what we signed up for this, is our chosen profession. The great thing is we all know this is not something we have to do but this is something we have an opportunity to do everyday and it brings joy to us,” Littlejohn said.

According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund 136 law enforcement officers lost their lives in the line of duty last year.