Darin Clark
Active member
Yesterday my wife and I went to the funeral of fellow Wildlife Conservation Office Dave Grove. Dave was a great man who was dedicated to the protection of our wildlife resources. On Nov 11 at 10:36 PM Dave was shot and killed while apprehending an individual who had just poached a deer. The individual was arrested by the state police within 12 hours, partly due to Officer Grove's actions. When intially taken into custody and in the days that followed the individual stated numerous time that the guy he killed was "just a game warden". As you can imagine, that is hard to take. The officers in this county that put their lives on the line to protect our wildlife resource are some the best people I've ever met and I'm honored to be one of them. I am sooo tired of being treated as second rate officers, but that's another subject. This man who was "just a game warden" was taken to his final resting place in the company of hundreds of law enforcement officer from all of north america. I personally saw officers from as far away as Idaho and Maine. The route from the funeral to the cemetery was over 2 miles long and was lined the entire way by people paying their respects. The motorcade took over half an hour to pass due to the number of law enforcement vehicles present. Words can not justly discribe the scene. I would like to personally thank all those that came to pay their respects. This fall when you are out hunting and the "game warden" shows up, remember he has dedicated his life to protecting the wildlife that you so love to hunt. If you're doing it right, you have nothing to worry about. Show him a little respect, let him do his job, and maybe thank him for what he does.
