Police and emergency vehicles pass beneath a huge U.S. flag as they enter Nyssa for the ceremony honoring Cpl. Joseph Johnson, the Nyssa officer killed on duty last week. (LES ZAITZ/The Enterprise)
NYSSA – With hushed citizens observing along the way, a procession of official vehicles made its way to the public ceremony honoring Joseph “JJ” Johnson, the fallen Nyssa Police Department reserve corporal.
Police, firefighters and medics gathered early Saturday in the parking lot of the John J. Easly Gymnasium at Treasure Valley Community College, where Johnson once worked as a security officer and advanced to teach criminal justice.
They came from all corners of Oregon – city police officers and sheriff’s deputies and their leaders. They came from Astoria to Boardman, Klamath Falls to Roseburg and beyond. Idaho was represented by Idaho State Police, several county sheriff’s offices and city police. The Boise Police Department dispatched its motorcycle unit, and officers came from Washington state as well.
The long line of vehicles went around the college ballfields, first Elks Memorial Field, then the Heinz/Ore-Ida Sports Complex before heading for Nyssa, where Johnson had volunteered to help protect the community since 2018. He died doing so on Saturday, April 15, shot while responding to a domestic disturbance.
Ribbons and flags on a Nyssa Fire Department truck surround a photo of Joseph Johnson, the Nyssa reserve officer killed in the line of duty. Scores of decked emergency vehicles were lined up for a procession to the memorial service in Nyssa on April 22, 2023. (LES ZAITZ/The Enterprise)People outside Calvary Chapel in Ontario hold flags and wave as emergency vehicles pass by on April 22, 2023. (LES ZAITZ/The Enterprise)Police, fire and other emergency vehicles queue up at Treasure Valley Community College in Ontario on April 22, 2023, for the procession to Nyssa, where a memorial service will honor the life of Joseph Johnson, the officer killed in the line of duty last week. (LES ZAITZ/The Enterprise)Police, fire and other emergency vehicles queue up at Treasure Valley Community College in Ontario on April 22, 2023, for the procession to Nyssa, where a memorial service will honor the life of Joseph Johnson, the officer killed in the line of duty last week. (LES ZAITZ/The Enterprise)Police, fire and other emergency vehicles line up in Ontario on April 22, 2023, for the procession to Nyssa, where a memorial service will honor the life of Joseph Johnson, the officer killed in the line of duty last week. (LES ZAITZ/The Enterprise)Nyssa volunteers place flags on a truck as scores of vehicles line up for the procession honoring slain reserve officer Joseph Johnson on April 22, 2023. (LES ZAITZ/The Enterprise)A floral wreath decks an emergency vehicle April 22, 2023, as responders prepare for the procession honoring the slain reserve officer Joseph Johnson. (LES ZAITZ/The Enterprise) A massive flag is draped above the highway in Nyssa, Oregon, as emergency responders prepare for the procession honoring the slain reserve officer Joseph Johnson. April 22, 2023. (The Enterprise/PAT CALDWELL)
