LAKE CITY, S.C. (WBTW) — A fallen Lake City officer was honored Monday in Washington, D.C. for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial along with 555 other officers who were killed in the line of duty.

Lt. John Stewart was honored in the 2023 Roll Call of Heroes where fallen national law enforcement officers were memorialized, according to a news release by the City of Lake City.

Stewart was killed in a car crash in 2021. 

“It was a very moving ceremony and heart-wrenching to see the name of one of our own etched on the monument,” said William A. Hall, Lake City administrator in a news release. “John Stewart was dedicated to our community.”

According to a news release from the city, Hall, Deputy City Administer and Police Chief Jody Cooper, and several members of the City of Lake City leadership attended the ceremony to honor Stewart and his dedication to Lake City.

Cooper said Stewart was a “professional peace officer” whose approachable demeanor made him reliable and respectable. 

“Lt. Stewart was part of our community and police department for 13 years,” Cooper said in the release. “His compassion and empathy emphasized the love in his heart for our community and his profession. He will forever be in our hearts.”

Stewart was originally from Passaic, New Jersey. He served as a criminal investigator with organized crimes and narcotics and had earned his dream assignment to the US Marshals Task Force shortly before his death on Sept. 17, 2021.

The Roll Call of Heroes honoring Stewart’s life was part of the National Fraternal Order of Police’s 42nd Annual National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service, according to the release. Stewart’s name is one of nearly 24,000 officers currently engraved on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

The memorial was established in 1984 and is dedicated to U.S. law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty throughout American history. The memorial is located at Judiciary Square next to the National Law Enforcement Museum, in Washington, D.C.