ELYRIA — Fallen Elyria police Officer James Kerstetter’s name was carved Tuesday into the black granite of a memorial for Lorain County police officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

Several Elyria police officers watched as Kerstetter’s name was added to the memorial outside the county jail.

An Elyria police dispatcher, who asked that her name not be used, said she felt compelled to watch Kerstetter join the other 13 officers whose names are on the monument. She said she still grieves for Kerstetter, whom she worked with for years.

“It’s still a tough pill to swallow, but I wanted to be here for it,” she said.

Kerstetter was fatally shot March 15 while responding to a call on 18th Street about a man who had exposed himself to a neighbor’s child. Two other Elyria police officers, Jay Loesch and Donald Moss, shot and killed Ronald Palmer, the man accused of shooting Kerstetter moments earlier.

Kerstetter died a short time later at EMH Regional Medical Center. The case remains under investigation, sheriff’s Capt. John Reiber said Tuesday.

Tim Stallman, who is associated with Lewis Monument Co., said he took great care to make sure that Kerstetter’s name looked perfect on the monument.

He said the process involves using a computer program to cut a rubber outline of the words to be inscribed. The outline is then stuck to the monument and sandblasted to cut the letters into the granite.

After that, Stallman said, white spray paint is used to make the officers’ names stand out. Stallman said the work to add Kerstetter’s name was a donation.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Randy Koubeck, who is active with the Greater Cleveland Peace Officers Memorial, also was on hand Tuesday to see Kerstetter’s name added to the memorial.

“Hopefully, it’s going to be the last one we put up there,” he said.

Kerstetter’s name will be added to the larger memorial in Cleveland during a May 21 memorial service. Kerstetter, whose badge number was 177, will be the 177th officer whose name is added to the Cleveland memorial, Koubeck said.

Next year, he said, Kerstetter’s name also will be added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. Kerstetter was killed after the cut-off date to have his name added to the national memorial this year.

Kerstetter’s name is the second name to be added to the Lorain County memorial in recent months. Al Leiby, a retired Elyria police officer who has a Web site paying tribute to fallen Lorain County officers, said Wellington city Marshal George Brenner’s name was added a few months ago.

Brenner was shot July 17, 1883, by John Young after a confrontation following a railroad office burglary, the Web site said.

The wounded Brenner managed to make it to his nearby apartment where he died in his wife’s arms, Leiby said.

Brenner’s name also will be added to the memorial in Cleveland in May, Leiby said. While people have long known of Brenner, Leiby said he only recently completed the research and obtained the necessary documents to get Brenner’s name on the memorials.

Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.