CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine has signed legislation designating a stretch of State Route 56 in Pickaway County in honor of Detective Rex Emrick, a Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office detective who died in the line of duty in 2021 after a nearly 47-year law enforcement career.
Sheriff Matthew O. Hafey, Chief Deputy James Brown Jr. and Major Johnathan Strawser represented the sheriff’s office at the Aug. 31 signing ceremony, where they were joined by Emrick’s wife, Becky, and several members of the Emrick family, the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.
House Bill 37 designates SR 56 between Five Points and the Madison County line as the “Detective Rex Emrick Memorial Highway,” according to the sheriff’s office. The bill was sponsored by state Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, and passed the Ohio House in March before later clearing the Senate and reaching DeWine’s desk.
Emrick began his law enforcement career in April 1974 with the Mount Sterling Police Department before joining the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office as a deputy sheriff in 1976, according to the Ohio House of Representatives. He was promoted to the sheriff’s detective bureau in March 1994, where he worked major cases, including homicides and child sexual abuse investigations, for the remainder of his career.
He received several honors during his time with the sheriff’s office, including the Buckeye State Sheriff’s Association Commendation Award, the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Law Enforcement Excellence Award and the VFW Post 331 Circleville Officer of the Year award in 2001, according to the Ohio House.
Emrick died Jan. 26, 2021, in the line of duty, five weeks before his 70th birthday. Beyond his law enforcement career, he was a member of Pickaway Lodge No. 23 F&AM, the Provost Unit of Aladdin Shrine, the Scottish Rite and the Sons of the American Revolution.
“Detective Rex Emrick was truly the best of the best,” Stewart said in a statement after introducing the legislation. Hafey said at the time that Emrick was “not only a well-respected member of the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office but a very loved member of our community,” adding that naming the roadway in his honor would help ensure his “memory and legacy live on forever.”
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office.
