La Grande trooper Charles Rohlf named Oregon Fallen Badge Foundation vice president

La Grande-based Oregon State Police Senior Trooper Charles Rohlf is now the Oregon Fallen Badge Foundation’s vice president, a move that puts a familiar Union County name into one of the state’s most visible law-enforcement remembrance roles. The foundation also named Boardman Police Department Sgt. DaNeshia Barrett as state president.

For Union County, the appointment matters because Rohlf is not only a local trooper, he is part of the system that helps Oregon honor officers who die in the line of duty. The foundation was created in the spring of 2011 by law-enforcement honor guard members and police survivors, and it serves as a statewide central point for memorial services, honor guard coordination, and response to line-of-duty deaths. Its Line of Duty Death Response Team includes public safety professionals, survivors, and citizens who respond at a moment’s notice.

Rohlf’s elevation gives La Grande a stronger voice inside that work. The foundation said he responded seven times in 2025 to active-duty deaths in Oregon, a sign of how often he has been called on to support grieving agencies and families. He was added to the foundation’s board of directors in October 2025, when he was described as a 17-year Oregon State Police veteran assigned in La Grande, a longtime member of OSP’s honor guard and a detection K-9 handler. The foundation also credited him with the 2023 John C. Whitney Dedication to Honor Award, which it describes as Oregon’s top honor guard honor across public safety agencies.

The foundation says its mission goes beyond ceremonies. It helps plan and carry out memorial services statewide, provides no-cost training to Oregon law-enforcement agencies on line-of-duty death matters, and helps ensure fallen officers are given full honors. Its on-call board member is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and the organization is funded entirely by private and public donations as a 501(c)(3) based in Wilsonville.

The appointment comes after Oregon’s annual law-enforcement memorial ceremony at the Oregon Public Safety Academy in Salem, where state leaders, including Gov. Tina Kotek, honored more than 190 fallen officers who have died in the line of duty since the 1860s. Foundation board president Capt. Shane Strangfield has said the duty is to preserve the legacy of the fallen. With Rohlf now helping lead that effort, La Grande has a direct connection to the statewide work of remembrance, response, and support.