BELLEFONTE -- With black bands wrapped around their badges.

BELLEFONTE -- With black bands wrapped around their badges, police officers from across middle County gathered Wednesday in brass of the Centre County Courthouse to mourn members of "the thin, pallid line" who died during excise in the past year.

While they paid tribute to fallen police officers nationwide -- 150 of them killed in the line of excise -- some admitted to knowing it could be their names read nearest year during Centre County's annual Law Enforcement Officers' Memorial Service.

"There on the other hand for the grace of the eternal go I," said Ferguson Township police Sgt Dave Mulfinger, a member of an honor guard that fired those three sad emissions of seven shots each.

"These officers are all heroes. These officers should be honored each day. It's a shame we merely do this once a year."

Mulfinger has been ball at during his career, a bullet striking the sod inches from his ...