News

Deputies and friends remember Deputy Ryan Hendrix at his favorite pub

Sheriff Lowell Griffin and the sheriff's office attorney Ron Justice visit with friends during a fundraiser for the family of Ryan Hendrix at Dry Falls Brewing Co.

By Lightning Reports, Published: November 12, 2020

Off duty, sheriff’s deputy Ryan Hendrix and his Charlie squad buddies liked to relax and enjoy a beer at Dry Falls Brewing Co.

Deputies, along with their boss, Sheriff Lowell Griffin, a district court judge and other friends and supporters of law enforcement gathered Wednesday at the brewery on Busy Bend to pay tribute to Hendrix and raise money for his family.
Hendrix, 34, died in the predawn hours of Sept. 10 when he responded to a call of a car break-in, disturbance and shots fired at a neighborhood in Mountain Home.
The fundraiser included sales of Ryan Hendrix T-shirts and pint glasses, a raffle for a gas grill, a silent auction, a cut of the night’s take from beer sales and music by the Ross Osteen Band, which performed for free. Sunnybrook Assisted Living center owner Katie Inman helped organize the event at Ryan’s favorite pub
“After the event occurred, we had a gathering after his funeral," Dry Falls owner Jeff Golliher said. "He liked Dry Falls and his squad told us about how he felt about spending his time here and they told us that Prison Shank was his favorite beer. We brewed a small batch for those guys and then during that time we offered to do a fundraiser for the family.”
At 3 o’clock Wednesday afternoon, the brewery released the beer, a malty English ale, under its new name: Charlie Ida, Hendrix's radio call sign.
“We’re going to keep it on tap in his memory,” Golliher said.
Sheriff Griffin, no brew in hand, watched the event from a corner table with some of his command staff and others.
The fundraiser on Veterans Day was appropriate — “Ryan being a veteran, being one of the best of the best in law enforcement,” he noted. “We know he did not die in vain because this community has not lost its mind (and engaged in) the silliness that’s going across the nation, protesting law enforcement, coming up with this defund the police. This place is still worth fighting for simply because we don’t have the nonsense that you’re seeing across the nation.”
Deputies wore T-shirts emblazoned with “Hold the Line” and a flag graphic.
“You talk about the thin blue line — that line between good and evil — and when we talk about holding the line, we’re talking about solidifying and holding that thin blue line to keep evil from crossing over to the good part of our population," Griffin said.