Police Who Died in Line of Duty in Howard County to be Honored Tuesday

On Tuesday, Howard County police and government officials will honor seven police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty.

The ceremony in Ellicott City, in conjunction with National Police Week, will be held at 11:30 a.m. at the Howard County Police Headquarters Memorial Courtyard and Garden, 3410 Courthouse Drive, Ellicott City.

According to a news release, the fallen officers honored will be: 

• Maryland State Police Trooper Shaft Hunter, who was killed after he attempted to stop a motorcycle on May 21, 2011, when his patrol car ran into a tractor-trailer parked on the shoulder of I-95 south near the Welcome Center by Route 32. A witness told police that a motorcycle passed his vehicle "at a high rate of speed" and it was followed by a marked police car, which, moments later, crashed into the tractor-trailer in the fatal collision.

•  Cpl. Scott Wheeler, who was struck by a speeding car while conducting “step-outs,” which the Baltimore Sun said was when an officer “steps into the highway and waves over speeding cars so the drivers can be ticketed.”

•  Recruit Ofc. Roger D. Cassell Jr., who died after collapsing following a training exercise at the HCPD academy in 1994.

•  Maryland State Police Cpl. Theodore D. Wolf, Sr., who police said was shot in 1990 during a traffic stop of two men smuggling drugs in a stolen vehicle.

•  Officer Randolph E. Brightwell Sr., who police said was shot in 1961 during a traffic stop of two men who had just robbed and killed a gas station attendant.

•  Deputy Sheriff Frank J. Miller, who police said died of a heart attack after struggling with a prisoner in 1946.

• Constable Charles T. Weber, who died after being dragged alongside a speeding vehicle in 1924.

Additionally, for Police Week, Howard County officers will conduct a Memorial Ride Tuesday between 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. at the various sites where the county’s seven fallen officers had died, according to a release.

See related links:

Fallen Trooper Shaft Hunter Memorialized on I-95

Deterring the distracted driver

Fallen in the Line of Duty: Howard County Police Department Honors