LOUISVILLE (WHAS11) -- It's been 13 years since an LMPD officer was laid to rest, after he was killed in the line of duty. The 27-year-old had responded to a hit-and-run on Louisville's south end when he was shot several times by a teenager, who then turned the gun on himself. Grignon died two hours later.
Friday his fellow brothers and sisters in blue visited his grave to remember Officer Peter Grignon.
"We come here as a stark reminder of the possible wages that are paid by police officers when they confront evil for the benefit of society."
Their sirens and radios went silent as they made their way into Cave Hill Cemetery Friday morning. Dozens of Metro Police Officers and their LMPD family gathered at the gravesite of their fallen brother.
"Peter will always be remembered as a great person, a great son, a great husband and a hero," said his widow, Rebecca Grignon Reker.
"Losing Peter is the most devastating thing I've ever dealt with but I know where Peter went. I do not grieve without hope. I know he is in Heaven. I know I will see him again," she said.
She has come to his grave every year on the day of his death, but she's never been alone.
"I would encourage you to live life, live every day like it's your last," she said.
She said it's a reality of the job that every law enforcement family fears.
"Police officers stand ready every day to make the same sacrifice," she said. "As evidence just last year, days after Peter's remembrance, we lost Nick Rodman."
Officer Rodman died almost a year ago when his cruiser collided with the suspect vehicle in a police chase in Louisville just 6 days after Grignon's ceremony.
"Nick was actually here last March the 23, remembering with us," she said. "They're an amazing police family. "
Reker spoke of the families, like Rodman's, who are left behind fighting to stay afloat in a world turned upside down. Legislation currently making its way through Frankfort would ease the financial burden of widows and their children after a line of duty death.
"That house bill is so important because it shows the people that are left behind that they are valued," she said. "That the sacrifice of their loved one was valued. The money is super important to Ashley and the kids because how do you raise two kids on a salary that's completely gone? But more than the money, it's people showing the sacrifice is appreciated. People showing they're not negating what he did."
Reker says she knows Grignon is watching over her.
"It's been a hard, long road. God has been with me. God and Peter sent me a new husband named John and two adorable step-kids that I love."