Forever In Our Hearts

      On March 24th, 2015 San Jose Police Officer Michael Johnson was killed in the line of duty. In responding to a call for a violent suicidal man, he was shot in ambush and died. Sworn to protect and serve, attempting to aid a man bent on destruction,  he paid the ultimate price.
    As a retired SJPD dispatcher, this hits a nerve. Nothing I say, nothing I create will begin to fill the hole that Officer Johnson's death leaves, but I wanted to make a memorial panel for his family.
   As I began the design process, I realized it needed to be more abstract than literal, more representational than figurative.
    The two jewels represent Officer Johnson and his wife. They are surrounded and protected by a family of blue who will never forget their sacrifice. And because the Thin Blue Line and The Thin Red Line are protected by the thinnest Gold Line, the dispatchers, there is a thin band of gold representing them as well.
    Officer Michael Johnson and his family will be forever in our hearts.