June 26, 2008

A Moment Of Silence For a Fallen Hero

Our community lost one of its public servants last week. A local young man who grew up to become a state trooper was shot and killed during a traffic stop. He was a very outstanding officer and an asset to the community. He had been married for a little over a year and had a 3 week old baby who was born premature and has been in the neo-natal unit. The baby was still in the hospital upstairs when his father passed away in the same hospital ER. The person he stopped had a long history of fighting with police and drug charges. He was from FL and had stolen a vehicle and driven to NC pulling a U-Haul trailer. According to the troopers dash camera the suspect got into a scuffle with him and then pulled a handgun and shot the trooper in the wrist and shoulder. According to non-released information, the young trooper was begging for the suspect not to kill him. The suspect supposedly bent over the young man, pulled his vest down at the top, and shot him again. He then took the troopers handgun and left the scene. He was still alive when help arrived. A deputy who chased the suspect was also shot at later. The suspect was arrested later.

The visitation for the young trooper was the largest in county history. And people came all the way from other states to pay their respects. There have been different memorials set up to help the wife and baby who is going to have huge medical bills. I just wanted to pass this to everyone and let us all keep this family in our thoughts and prayers. Just shows me how things can always get worse.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

We live in a country where men and women put their lives on the line to protect Us for such a small amount of pay.
This young man was in a routine traffic stop and lost his life to a repeat offender.The time is here to make a statement to the criminals. IF YOU TAKE A LIFE, YOU LOOSE YOUR LIFE!!!! Until our government stops putting repeat offenders, child molesters, rapist, murderers,for a start in "government hotels", the crime will continue to rise. God Bless our public defenders here and abroad!!! THANKS HONEY, from the wife of a former police officer, for your service, and thanks for leaving that career while still healthy. I Love You!!