CHARLOTTE — Detective Jason Grier’s impact wasn’t just on his fellow officers with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, but also on the community that he served.
Channel 9 Reporter Hunter Sáenz spoke with one of Grier’s sergeants Thursday, and you could feel the insurmountable pain his loss has had on his team. But his brothers in blue are finding comfort in memories, and in knowing that Grier wouldn’t want them to dwell on his loss.
“You never saw him without a smile,” said Sgt. Daniel Bignall. “Jason was the guy that would have held our team together. We miss him so much.”
To Bignall and his fellow officers with CMPD’s crime gun suppression team, Grier was the glue.
“He really, truly, deeply cared about the city,” Bignall said of Grier, a native of Charlotte. “He did a ton with the Juvenile Justice Department, work with kids’ moms, their dads, to try to get these kids right back on the right path.”
His colleagues say Grier was a man of deep faith who put God and family first. He even had a prayer box on his desk for anyone who needed him to send one up, never knowing that he’d need their prayers too.
“Jason was losing some weight and he wasn’t feeling well, so he went to the doctor and he found out he had cancer,” Sgt. Bignall told Sáenz.
Grier was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma just a few months ago.
He passed away the day before Father’s Day, survived by his wife and two young children.
“They know that Jason’s in a better place and, you know, where he’s fought to be his entire life,” Bignall said. “From the time he was born, that was his dream, was to make it to Heaven. But you know, we need to take care of that family.”
That’s why Bignall and his fellow officers are raising money to support the Grier family, honoring a young dad, husband, and public servant whose legacy will live on.
“When we all come together, and we tell Jason stories, and we talk about a smile, and we talk about what a great dad he was, it helps to know that he’ll never ever be forgotten,” Bignall said.
The sergeant told me he’s heard from the parents of some of the young people who Det. Grier worked with over the years. They said CMPD has lost their best officer.
Funeral arrangements are still being planned.
If you’d like to donate, you can write a check to Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s FOP Foundation and write Grier in the memo line; then send it to 1201 Hawthorne Lane in Charlotte, NC, 28205. All proceeds will go to Grier’s family. You can also donate online by clicking this link.
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