When Joel Bolton was
only 12 years old, his niece, Ginger, was killed in an automobile
accident. There were no child safety
seats back then and seat belts were rarely used. The incident so affected Bolton that he
decided to become a police officer.
"That bothered Joel
and when he went into law enforcement, it was for passenger safety and car
seats and things like that," said Sandy Bolton, his widow. "Joel was the number 3 person in the country
to be certified in child seat inspections and installations. Now there are over 300,000."
After 25 years with
the Lake Charles Police Department, Bolton moved to Washington, DC to work for
the Department of Transportation...writing national programs on child seat and
passenger safety.
"He was successful in
law enforcement and passenger safety because he had a pure passion for Ginger
and her death. That's how he would want
to be remembered. That would be his
legacy."
Bolton died of a
heart attack in March of 2012, leaving behind his wife and 4 year old daughter,
Jolie. Calcasieu Sheriff's deputy David
Benada was a close friend.
"He'll be missed, but
his impact will live on," said Benada. "That's
a great thing. A great legacy. That's what we all want is to leave an impact
and he has."
Lt.
Joel Bolton was remembered in a National Memorial Police Week service in Lake Charles, and his Stannard
Baker Award for Highway Safety, given to him by the International Chiefs of Police in 2006,
was hung at Lake Charles Police Headquarters in his memory.
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