ThinBlueNews remembers Police Officer Matthew Hare of the Easley Police Department on the third anniversary of his End of Watch, Wednesday, August 2, 2023.
The Officer Down Memorial Page records that Officer Hare died in the line of duty while he and another officer were trying to move a person in crisis away from railroad tracks as a train approached. Officer Hare was 22 years old and had served with the Easley Police Department for five months. This anniversary remembrance avoids graphic detail and centers his service, courage and sacrifice.
A young officer remembered for selfless service
ODMP reports that Officer Hare had graduated from the police academy only five months before his End of Watch. The other officer and the person the officers were assisting were not injured.
A Little League International remembrance, citing an Easley Police Department report and remarks, said Hare had joined the department in October 2022 after graduating from the Criminal Justice Academy. It also remembered him as an Easley Little League graduate who had played baseball while growing up.
The archival remembrance quoted Easley Police Lieutenant Ashley Anderson describing what his final act meant: “Officer Hare died saving the life of someone he did not know. He was a hero.”
A community and state paid tribute
In the days after his death, law-enforcement officers held a procession in Officer Hare's memory, and flags at Easley's J.B. Owens Sports Complex were lowered to half-staff, according to Little League International. The organization also said the Senior League Baseball World Series planned a moment of silence in his honor.
South Carolina's official gubernatorial archive independently records that Governor Henry McMaster attended Officer Hare's funeral service in Easley on August 8, 2023. That state record and the community tributes preserve the scale of respect shown after his End of Watch.
Three years later, still remembered
This is an anniversary remembrance offered with respect for Officer Hare's family, friends, fellow officers and the Easley community. His time in uniform was brief, but the selfless purpose of his final response remains part of his enduring legacy.
Three years after his End of Watch, Police Officer Matthew Hare is remembered for courage, service and a final effort to protect a person he did not know.
End of Watch
Police Officer Matthew Hare
Easley Police Department, South Carolina
End of Watch: Wednesday, August 2, 2023
Support the organization preserving officer memorial records
ODMP maintains the national memorial record for fallen law-enforcement officers and provides resources connected to fallen officers and their families.
Sources and image attribution
- Officer Down Memorial Page: Police Officer Matthew Hare
- South Carolina Governor's Office: August 2023 official schedule recording Officer Hare's funeral service
- Little League International: archival remembrance of Officer Matthew Hare
- ODMP donation page
Featured-image note: ThinBlueNews used the ODMP portrait of Police Officer Matthew Hare and added a restrained memorial design with visible source attribution. No synthetic likeness, generated officer portrait or representative incident image was used. ThinBlueNews does not claim ownership of the source portrait.
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