'Their lives were stolen'

Sunshine drenched Fargo's Lindenwood Park on Tuesday afternoon, but the ghosts came anyway.

They were honored guests.

"I find comfort in remembering them and having some way of keeping them alive in my mind, having failed to do so in life," said David Ebinger, Moorhead's police chief speaking at the Fargo-Moorhead observance of Law Enforcement Memorial Day.

Ebinger, a former police commander in Little Rock, Ark., knew several officers who died in the line of duty.

"These men did not lay down their lives for others; their lives were stolen from them," Ebinger said.

Much of the focus Tuesday was on Scott Rogers, a Clay County sheriff's deputy who collapsed and died of a heart condition July 8, 2006, in the locker room of the county Law Enforcement Center in Moorhead where he worked.

Rogers lost his life doing something he loved to do, Clay County Sheriff Bill Bergquist said.

"Deputy Rogers was not taken from us in a tragic accident, or gun battle, but was just taken from us," Bergquist said.

God must have needed a strong officer who was also a friendly greeter, he said, someone to welcome newcomers to the pearly gates "with a smile and a joke."

Rogers' wife, Kathi, said the large turnout of officers was touching.

"It just means a lot," she said. "Scott always talked about it (law enforcement) being a big family, and it truly is."

Readers can reach Forum reporter Dave Olson at (701) 241-5555

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