Officers take ‘Cold Water Challenge’ to honor fallen colleagues

This is the full list of fallen officers whose names were called out on Friday. The 41st bucket was for the families of the fallen.

Trooper Ralph Bates

Trooper Burrell Baucom

Sr. Trooper Harold Berg

Sgt. Earl Burtch

Trooper George Cameron

Sgt. Theodore Chambers

Trooper Bret Clodfelter

White House Police Leslie Coffelt

Trooper Dale Courtney

RCMP Fabrice Gavaudan

Senior Trooper William Hakim

Game trooper William Hall

Trooper Amos Helms

Superintendent Holly Holcomb

Game Officer Arthur Hubbard

Trooper Frederick Kielhorn

Trooper William Levinson

Trooper Scott Lyons

RCMP Constable Douglas LaRoche

Trooper Philip Lowd

Sr. Trooper Maria Magnana

Trooper Dan Nelson

Trooper Richard O’Connor

RCMP Constable Joseph Prevett

Trooper Elmer Pyle

Sgt. James Rector

Trooper Delmond Rondeau

RCMP Constable David Ross

Trooper Charles Sanders

Sgt. Richard Schuening

Sgt. William Sheppard

Trooper Donald Smith

Trooper Leroy Spickerman

Trooper Willard Tubbs

Sgt. Ira Warren

Trooper Donald Welp

Canine officer Mick, Portland

Canine officer Tanja, Georgia

Canine officer Tracker, Alabama

Canine officer Ike, Idaho

“Option A is wimp out, and donate $100. Operation B, dump a bucket over your head,” said Oregon State Trooper Gavin McIlvenna, who organized Friday’s event. With him were fellow The Dalles-based Troopers, Zach Bohince and Andrew Vanderwerf, and Portland Police Bureau’s Kris Barber, who with McIlvenna is part of the statewide Mobile Response Team.

“Quick and painless” one of the quartet quipped about the repeated icy self-dousing. One at a time, the men picked up the buckets, labeled with the names of the fallen. After doing a row of four, they stepped forward and solemnly hoisted another four buckets in turn, loudly calling out the names “Freezing water? It’s nothing. You think about the families and you think of the fallen who have passed and what they went through in their final moments,” McIlvenna said. “It’s just a challenge. Many people out there are afraid of it but it’s not that bad. If I can survive having a bucket of cold water dumped on my head I think I can survive having to stand next to a brother.”

He said OSP Sgt. Ken Terry of Roseburg, also on the MRT, challenged him and he issued the challenge to other SWAT team members from around the state. When the 41 buckets were emptied, the quartet issued their own challenges, videotaped by Trooper Jason Walters and Sgt. Pat Shortt. New challenges went out to Hood River police and sheriff personnel, and Barber called out his brother, of the Bend Police Department.

“It was our intent to do the 31 state troopers who had fallen since our inception in 1931,” said McIlvenna. “I talked to SWAT Sgt. Seth Cooney who had said he wanted other SWAT people to join us.” Cooney serves with the Hermiston Police Dept. “I added four constables for Royal Canadian Mounted Police and four canine, and one extra for tomb guard friends who are also law enforcement, as a challenge to them to get that rolling across the country,” he said.

Mcllvenna said he added the Mounties to the group because Northwest agencies have a longstanding tradition with their Canadian counterparts and especially the RCMP. McIlvenna served on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier guard unit from 1997-2000, and on Friday he remembered Leslie Coffelt, who died in the line of duty in the White House. Coffelt protected President Harry Truman from an attempted assassination in 1950. As to the canine units, Barber called out an extra greeting to the canine officer Canine Mick, who died in service this spring.

“People hear about the gunshots, they don’t hear about the injuries, a lot of them (police dogs) retire because of injury,” Barber said. “They are willing to sacrifice for us, and a lot of times they go in first, and they step up. Mick literally and figuratively took the bullet for his handler.”

McIlvenna also called out a thank you upon saying the name of Sgt. James Rector, father of Scott Rector, a trooper assigned to The Dalles Patrol Office. Vanderwerf and Bohince had different takes on a 10-bucket ice bath.

“It’s a nice warm day, and all for a good cause,” Vanderwerf said. “We’re here to represent all the fallen officers,” Bohince said. Hood River County Sheriff Deputy Joel Carmody called him out Thursday. “It’s a little early, and I thought it would be warmer, but it’s a good cause and we’re happy to be here,” Bohince said.