ST PAUL, Minn. — On the 30th anniversary of the Capital City's darkest day, the Saint Paul Police Dept. rededicated the Eastern District Headquarters building to an officer slain in line of duty.
Hundreds gathered on a hot afternoon on Payne Avenue, to remember what happened on August. 26, 1994 and pay tribute to the sacrifice of Officers Ron Ryan Jr. and Tim Jones.
"As we gather here today, let us be reminded of the courage and selflessness that Ron and Tim exemplified," Commander Salim Omari, who serves as chief of the Eastern District, told the crowd.
"Their memory will forever be a part of who we are, what we stand for, and now enshrined in the very name of this building."
On August 26, 1994, Ryan was gunned down from behind after answering a call about a man sleeping in a car in the Sacred Heart Church parking lot in the Dayton's Bluff area. A stretch of East Sixth Street near the church was later renamed Officer Ron Ryan Jr. Boulevard.
Jones and his canine officer Laser were ambushed and murdered by the same shooter while taking part in a manhunt for the killer. The SPPD's K9 Training Center was previously named in honor of Jones.
"But they're also a reminder to us the safety we hold dear just cannot be taken for granted," St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter III told the crowd.
He said he remembers that day vividly, because his own father, Melvin Carter Jr., was a St. Paul officer at the time.
"We’re saying those two officers represent and reflect the way every single member of this Saint Paul Police Department goes out into our community every single day!"
Chief Axel Henry said the idea to name a building for Ryan came from the ground up, not the top down.
"This was a grassroots thing that came from our officers, our retired folks, and from our community, who have always believed this needs to happen," Chief Henry explained.
Ryan was a second-generation Saint Paul officer, who'd made news already for saving children from a fire earlier the same year. A new photo collage of Ryan in the entryway of the Eastern District includes a snapshot of Ron Ryan Sr. penning the badge on Ron Ryan Jr. 19 months before his death.
Ron Ryan Sr. died in 2022. But his daughter, and Ron Jr.'s sister, Maria Ryan Hanggi spoke at the dedication ceremony. She relayed anecdotes about his life, including good deeds she only learned about after his death.
"What I will tell you about Ronny, he had a great love for people, and he lived his life in this manner. He loved life!"
Officer Ryan's young widow Ann eventually moved on, remarried and had a family. But she was in the audience Monday and could be seen embracing many of those in the crowd afterwards.
Even though she lost her first husband 30 years ago, she said the photo collage in the lobby brought back many of those old emotions.
"It's hard not to get emotional. He was an amazing man, a life taken way too early, too senselessly. We had a wonderful time when we were together."