LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A permanent memorial is now in place for two Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) officers who died in the line of duty.
Monuments honoring Officer Peter Grignon and Detective Deidre Mengedoht were unveiled Friday morning outside LMPD’s Second Division, which is in the Park DuValle neighborhood in West Louisville.
Grignon was shot and killed while on a routine call in 2005.
Mengedoht was killed by an impaired driver who hit her patrol car on Christmas Eve in 2018 during a traffic stop.
"It makes me feel so incredibly happy that he is still honored 16 years after his passing,” Grignon’s widow Rebecca Grignon Reker said. "Yesterday, would have been his 44th birthday and you always miss celebrating, but I know he's in heaven and I know he's having an amazing time. But you never forget. You always wonder what would have been."
Mengedoht was remembered by friends and colleagues as someone they aspire to be like everyday they're on the job.
"Deidre was one of the most caring and loving officers and detectives out there in LMPD who made the ultimate sacrifice for the citizens of Louisville,” Justin Haydock, who worked with Mengedoht for seven years, said.
LMPD Lieutenant Chris Watkins, who worked with Mengedoht, had the idea to build the memorial.
"I just wanted to make sure Peter and Deidre's memory would always be honored,” Watkins said.
Grignon Reker passed along a word of thanks to all who helped make the memorial possible.
"It was just people chipping in a little bit here and a little bit there, and then we had two very large donors as well,” Grignon Reker said. “It just showed how much Louisville wants to back their police and wants to stand behind them."
RELATED: Son of LMPD detective killed in 2018 crash to receive nearly $14M settlement against MSD, ex-driver
► Contact reporter Rachel Droze at rdroze@whas11.com or on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.