A day after his killer pleaded guilty in court, Morrow County Deputy Daniel Weston Sherrer was honored at a memorial ceremony for law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.
“Yesterday, I am pleased to report that his killer accepted responsibility for his actions in the Morrow County Court of Common Pleas,” Ohio Attorney General David Yost said. “He will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.”
The Ohio Peace Officers Memorial Ceremony on May 7 honored four law enforcement officers who died in 2025:
Fayette County Sheriff Vernon Stanforth noted that the ceremony was also taking place just over a week after a Columbus police officer was shot and seriously wounded in the line of duty.
The unnamed officer was shot by 39-year-old Chantez Loury, who fled a traffic stop before exchanging gunfire with officers, Columbus police previously said. Loury died after he was transported to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center.
Stanforth said the officer was shot an artery, and it can take just 60 seconds to bleed out from such a wound.
“Those officers last week had the training to stretch those 60 seconds just long enough to get their brother to the hospital in time,” Stanforth said. “They were calm. They were capable in the face of great evil, just like Dick, Phil, Weston and Larry.”
The ceremony will be Yost’s last as attorney general. He can’t seek reelection in November due to term limits, and is also expected to announce his resignation from the office.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost speaks at the Ohio Peace Officers Memorial Ceremony in London, Ohio on May 7, 2026.
In remarks at the ceremony, Yost spoke of good and evil. He said there was “evil loose in the world,” and called the four fallen officers “warriors” in the fight against it.
“C.S. Lewis once wrote this: ‘Since it is so likely that children will encounter cruel enemies, let them, at least, have heard of brave knights and heroic courage,’” Yost said. “Ladies and gentlemen, today, we have all heard, once again, of brave knights and heroic courage.”
Ceremony honors fallen Morrow County deputy shot in the line of duty
Sherrer, a Morrow County deputy, was shot and killed responding to a domestic violence and shots fired call on May 26, 2025 − Memorial Day − near Marengo.
On May 6, Brian Wilson, 53, of Marengo, pleaded guilty to 14 counts in Sherrer’s death, including two counts of aggravated murder. Visiting Judge James Kimbler told Sherrer he will be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole plus 27 years at a sentencing scheduled for May 26, one year after the incident.
Morrow County Sheriff’s Office deputy Daniel Sherrer, 31, who was killed in a shooting on May 26, 2025.
The plea deal allows Sherrer to avoid the death penalty. He agreed to waive any appeals as part of the agreement.
Sherrer’s parents were supportive of dropping the death penalty specification against Wilson, officials said at the hearing.
“They were the ones that wanted this just to be over,” Morrow County Sheriff John Hinton said after the hearing.
Morrow County Prosecutor Andrew Wick said Sherrer responded to Wilson’s home in the 100 block of County Road 26 at the County Road 15 intersection after Wilson fired at his brother-in-law. Wilson reloaded and discharged his firearm again as the brother-in-law fled, and one of the rounds struck a neighbor’s house, Wick said.
When Sherrer arrived, a neighbor warned that Wilson remarked that he didn’t care if he lived or died that night, according to court records.
Wilson was sitting on the porch holding a gun and threatened Sherrer as he approached, according to court records. The two exchanged gunfire, killing Sherrer and injuring Wilson.
Yost said Sherrer wrote in a letter that he wanted to be a police officer at age 6.
“I want to catch the villains, and I am ready to risk my life for the people of the United States,” Sherrer wrote. The letter was also shared at Sherrer’s funeral.
Sherrer is survived by his parents, sister and fiancée.
Yost said that after Sherrer’s death, three inmates at the Morrow County Jail called home in tears, and a “known criminal” showed up at his candlelight vigil to grieve.
“Even broken people encountered Weston and felt hope from his presence,” Yost said. “Wherever he went, Weston strove to bring peace. His rich character mended something broken.”
Representatives from police and sheriff departments from around the state play the bagpipes as they march past families and coworkers of fallen officers during the Ohio Peace Officers Memorial Ceremony at the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy on Thursday, May 7, 2026 in London, Ohio.
Hamilton County Deputy Larry Henderson remembered
Henderson, a Hamilton County deputy, also died in May 2025.
Rodney Hinton Jr., 38, was accused of ramming his car into Henderson, killing him while he worked traffic duty at a University of Cincinnati graduation on May 2, 2025.
Hamilton County Sheriff’s Deputy Larry Henderson.
Hours earlier, Hinton and other family members had watched body camera footage of Hinton’s 18-year-old son, Ryan, being fatally shot by a Cincinnati police officer.
The shooting happened the previous day in East Price Hill as police were investigating a stolen vehicle.
Henderson was working traffic control for a University of Cincinnati graduation ceremony. Prosecutors said Hinton drove directly at Henderson as he stood next to a traffic light control box, intentionally hitting and killing the deputy.
Hinton will stand trial in October. His attorneys are pursuing a not guilty by reason of insanity defense.
Henderson had retired from full-time service at the sheriff’s office when he died, but still served as a special deputy.
Henderson served as a Marine before his law enforcement career, Yost said. Henderson “had a great rapport” with students as a school resource officer. He was also a dive team member, SWAT team member, FBI task force member and a bomb tech, Yost said.
Deputy Sheriff officers fold an American flag during the Ohio Peace Officers Memorial Ceremony at the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy on Thursday, May 7, 2026 in London, Ohio.
“When the risk was high, Larry volunteered,” Yost said. “And he had a remarkable tact for diffusing difficult situations, keeping everyone calm under pressure.”
But Henderson also loved to make jokes, Yost said, and the deputy could take a joke, as well.
Yost said Henderson was “a great family man.” Henderson’s wife was a foster parent.
“He cared for, prioritized those innocent kids,” Yost said.
Henderson is survived by his wife, five grown children, and two infants to whom he had just become a foster parent.
Public Safety and Breaking News Reporter Bailey Gallion can be reached at bagallion@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Morrow County, Hamilton County deputies killed on-duty honored in ceremony
