By Gregory Hasman
Albuquerque Journal
TIJERAS, N.M. 鈥� Honor guards from the Bernalillo County Sheriff鈥檚 Office and Bernalillo County Fire Rescue stood watch at the East Mountain Memorial Wall on Tuesday evening to honor four men who died in a 2022 helicopter crash in northern New Mexico.
As they stood, dozens of people walked up to the wall. Some kissed their fingers, then placed them over the name of a loved one on the wall, while others kneeled in front of the name.
鈥淲e can never forget those guys for what they did for us,鈥� said Tim Sheahan, who came to remember the first responders.
On July 16, 2022, Bernalillo County Sheriff鈥檚 Office Undersheriff Larry Koren, 55; Lt. Fred Beers, 51; Deputy Michael Levison, 30; and Bernalillo County Fire Rescue Specialist Matthew King, 44, were returning to Albuquerque after conducting firefighting operations near Chapelle, south of Las Vegas, when BCSO鈥檚 Metro 2 helicopter crashed.
Andrew Levison, brother of Michael Levison, told the Journal that, earlier in the day, he went to the crash site. As he walked to a memorial consisting of an American flag and pieces of the helicopter honoring the men, Andrew said he thought about their sacrifices.
鈥淚鈥檓 proud of them for what they were doing that day,鈥� Andrew said. 鈥淭hey were doing God鈥檚 work, in my opinion.鈥�
While some time has passed since the incident, the memories remain fresh for many family members and friends.
鈥淔or the longest time, I thought it was just a bad dream,鈥� said No毛lle Ashoo, Michael Levison鈥檚 partner. 鈥淓ven after the first year, I thought this was a messed-up drama.鈥�
鈥楢 true brother鈥�
While some people walked to the memorial, others intermingled with other relatives or members of the sheriff鈥檚 office and fire rescue.
Retired BCSO Sgt. Nathan Lerner was talking to some of King鈥檚 family when he said Beers was the 鈥減erfect mensch,鈥� which is Yiddish for a person with integrity and honor.
Beers was not only a smart man, he said, but 鈥渉e would never have anything bad to say about anybody.鈥�
鈥淗e was a true brother,鈥� Lerner said.
Sheahan said he remembered Beers and Koren as being 鈥渧ery dedicated at their jobs and dedicated to the people of Bernalillo County .鈥�
King was known for his passion for his job, his desire to serve others, and his sense of humor.
鈥淗e would make you laugh until you couldn鈥檛 stand it,鈥� his father, James King, said.
James said he had a tough time talking about his son鈥檚 death, but two years later, he is able to 鈥渢alk about Matt a lot.鈥�
鈥淓very day is tough, and I imagine it鈥檚 going to be tough for quite a while,鈥� James said.
鈥榃e have more questions鈥�
Tuesday鈥檚 remembrance took place just weeks after the National Transportation Safety Board issued its final report on the crash investigation. In it, federal investigators said engine failure due to poor maintenance caused the crash.
Andrew said the report made his parents 鈥渁ngry, disappointed and frustrated鈥� because the incident could have been prevented.
鈥淲hy did this happen?鈥� Andrew asked. 鈥淲hy did we lose our family member?
鈥淭his didn鈥檛 get our family closure to any degree. We have more questions.鈥�
Ashoo said she hasn鈥檛 brought herself to read the report. 鈥淚t won鈥檛 bring him back,鈥� she said, 鈥渟o it changes nothing for me.鈥�
While the report may not change things or bring closure, Andrew said the next step is 鈥渢o prevent this from happening to anybody else.鈥�
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