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On Monday, June 24, hundreds of people lined the route from the Randolph Funeral Home and Crematory through the center of Elkins and on to Mabie to express their gratitude and respect for the life of Officer Ramon Goux.
Those who wanted to honor Officer Goux stood along the streets for over an hour after the procession was set to move through Elkins and waited for the funeral rites to conclude so that they could pay their respects to him.
Veterans and law enforcement saluted the hearse as it carried Officer Goux to his final resting place in Mabie. I was among the cars in the procession and it must have stretched a half mile long.
Officer Goux was the first and only African American member of the police force in Elkins, and his legacy should be preserved and celebrated by our community the way his life was honored by crowds of people along the route of his funeral procession. His presence in the Elkins Police Department embodied a kind of hopefulness for the possibility of more inclusive institutions in our community and our country. Officer Goux lived into that representation by being the kind of person who could and would interact with anyone and everyone. Even people repeatedly arrested by the Elkins Police Department offered their condolences to other members of the department upon the loss of Officer Goux.
Residents of Randolph County from every background valued the presence of Officer Goux on the Elkins police force. His skills were evidenced in his training to be part of the SWAT team and his work with his K9, Apollo. The true impact of Officer Goux's presence on the force, however, is clear in how he brought people together. The presence of Black and white community members waving flags and offering salutes along the funeral procession route, bound together in the loss of a beloved member of the Elkins community, was a clear demonstration of the impact that Officer Goux had on our community.
In recognition of his capacity to bring people together and his distinguished accomplishments as a member of law enforcement, the city of Elkins should re-name the Elkins Police Department after Officer Ramon Goux. Ramon Goux was a history-making officer and his name deserves to live on in our town.
Jessica Scott
Montrose