Friday was a memorial service held at the Oran Pape State Office Building in Des Moines to honor fallen peace officers in Iowa.

Four officers were added to the memorial including Rockwell City police officer Jamie Buenting who was killed in the line of duty serving a search warrant in September.

Greene County Sheriff Steve Haupert says he knew the Buenting family when Jamie’s father was an officer and it was difficult for him when he found out that one of his friends had died.

He points out that Buenting was the certified firearms instructor for the county for those who wanted to obtain firearm carry permits.

“Jamie did a lot of things for all communities.  He was widely known and was a tactical force up there (in Rockwell City).  It’s one of those things that touches you deeply.”

Nathan Haupert, Steve’s son, is a conservation officer with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for Calhoun and Pocahontas counties and he recalls some of his favorite memories of Buenting both on and off work.

“Some of my best memories of Jamie (Buenting) were not only at work, but we also did a lot of hunting and fishing and trapping activities together and spent a lot of time on the river fishing and exploring and trapping and those are some of the best memories.”

Nathan Haupert will also serve as the Buenting family’s escort to the National Police Officer’s Memorial this week in Washington D.C., which he says he’s honored to be a part of.

“It’s quite an honor.  Jamie was a great friend, a wonderful father, an amazing husband.  I’m a better person for knowing Jamie and think about him daily and he’s greatly missed.  He was highly respected as a law enforcement officer and as a member of the community and left a big gap in the community when he was gone.”

The other officers that were added to the state’s memorial on Friday were from 1868, 1902 and 1911.