POST FALLS — A small mound of memories in everyday items — a photo, a child’s note, a lei and a flower — rested by the memorial stone for Officer Nick McDaniel.

“It’s a place for people to come and remember Nick,” Acting Police Chief Mark Brantl said Friday. “He was only with us for a very short time, but he had a profound impact on the community.”  

McDaniel came from Kona Patrol District in Hawaii before arriving to work at Post Falls Police Department in 2022. 

On October 22, 2023, McDaniel was working patrol and helped a citizen unlock their car.  When he wasn’t able to be reached by radio, officers checked on him and found him experiencing a massive heart attack in his police car.

The officers performed CPR until firefighters arrived and transported him to the hospital, where he passed away. 

McDaniel’s service to the city of Post Falls was commemorated Friday by a memorial bench and stone preserving the date he ended his watch. 

Brantl said that holding the ceremony on Peace Officer Memorial Day was fitting for the way McDaniel served Post Falls. 

Brantl was told by McDaniel’s family that rain is considered lucky in Hawaii and observed that it rained on the day of McDaniel’s funeral and some rain fell on the day of his memorial dedication. 

“In the future, Nick’s going to make it rain,” Brantl said.  

Dressed in full police regalia, Scott Harmon read a speech written by Paige Pierce, McDaniel’s fiancé: 

“To those of us who knew Nick personally, Nick was so much more than the badge. He was a father a partner and a friend whose life changed ours forever.”   

McDaniel saw him care deeply for people and Pierce shared that seeing his life remembered in this way “means more to our family than words can properly express.”   

“We carry a piece of him every single day and I hope our boys know how reply their father was loved,” Pierce wrote. 

Addressing the solemn faces of the family, Post Falls police, city officials and staff, Mayor Randy Westlund said that for those who take the oath to serve, they don’t take it lightly and don’t know how that service will end. 

“It’s a reminder that we don’t know the day or the hour when our lives will be taken from us,” Westlund said. All that can be done is to live and perform honorable service, keeping that promise.  

Lead chaplain Jon Dekeles said to give thanks for the gift of McDaniel’s life, his service, his dedication and the example he left behind. 

"When we think of the badge, may we remember him. When we think of a service done with honor, may we remember him. When we think of officers making relationships in the community and standing ready when called, may we remember him," he said.

For those who knew McDaniel, Dekeles said the bench is more than a place to sit. 

“May it be a place to pause to reflect, a place for family, friends and fellow officers and citizens can spend a quiet moment with his memory," he said.

    Post Falls Acting Chief Mark Brantl and Mayor Randy Westlund bow their heads during a prayer in memory of Officer Nick McDaniel.
  

    Scott Harmon, Jon Dekeles and Mark Brantl spoke during the dedication ceremony for a bench commemorating Officer Nick McDaniel's service to Post Falls.
  

    Officer Nick McDaniel's fiancé, Paige Pierce, and children of sit on a memorial bench in honor of his memory on 5th Avenue in Post Falls.
  

    A memorial stone remembering Officer Nicholas McDaniel is now present at 5th Avenue in Post Falls, near Idaho Road.