Officer Daniel Scott Wasson , 25, was a Police Officer serving the Town of Milford in Connecticut.  Officer Wasson had been commended three times for outstanding performance since joining the force on  March 1, 1985.  He was a U.S. Air Force veteran who worked in the police K-9 unit. On Sunday morning of April, 12, 1987, while doing a routine motor vehicle stop on  Boston Post Road in Milford with his K-9 partner General in the patrol car,  Wasson had radioed a police dispatcher before stopping a vehicle but they did not know Wasson's reason for making the stop. Officer Wasson wrote down the license plate number of the vehicle he was stopping before leaving his cruiser. Officer Wasson was found at 2:45   a.m. lying on the side of the road  by a passing motorist with a single gunshot wound to the chest.  He had been gunned down  with a 44 magnum and was pronounced dead at Yale New Haven Hospital shortly after 3 a.m.  Officer Wasson's K-9, General, was turned over to his family and retired from the police force.  Officer Wasson  is buried in Kings Highway Cemetery in Milford.  In 1993, The Connecticut Police Chiefs Association, in cooperation with the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association Inc., established The Daniel Wasson Memorial K-9 Award.  These annual awards are chosen from line of duty deployments submitted by Connecticut police canine teams that exemplify the highest tradition of police canine law enforcement. Daniel Scott Wasson made the supreme sacrifice; it is in his memory that this award is bestowed upon a K-9 team each year for outstanding service.  The award plaque honoring Officer Daniel Wasson and the winners of this prestigious award is proudly displayed in the lobby of the Connecticut Police Academy in Meriden, Connecticut.  On June 23, 2003 State Route 796, the New Milford Parkway Connector, was renamed Daniel S. Wasson Connector in honor of Officer Wasson and a ball field is also named Daniel Wasson Field in his honor. Officer Wasson was with the Milford Police Department for two years. Officer Wasson was engaged to be married at the time. Danny Wasson's locker number 43 remains empty to this day serving as a reminder to city police officers who suit up for work that their fellow officer made the ultimate sacrifice.

Thomas A. Hoyesen, 33,  was arrested by Bridgeport Police officer's Pamela Stewart and John Prokop at 3:00 a.m. the morning Officer Wasson was killed and charged with narcotics possession, carrying a pistol without a permit and failure to appear in court on a motor vehicle violation. The suspect was found to have a loaded .44 caliber revolver with one bullet missing police said after Officer Wasson was shot and killed. Thomas Hoyesen pleaded guilty to capital murder charges, avoiding a possible death sentence. Hoyesen was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on June 10, 1988, and is serving his sentence at the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center in Montville for the murder.

   

Officer Hanson, 41, was shot and killed on July 17, 1986 while searching for a suspect who had shot at another officer. After shooting at the first officer the suspect stole her cruiser and fled. He crashed into a wall and began fleeing on foot. Officer Hanson arrived, leaving his canine "Baron" in his cruiser, and began tracking the suspect with a second canine officer. As they approached the suspect's hiding place, which was under a large spruce tree, he opened fire striking Officer Hanson in the neck. Officer Hanson died 1 hour later in the hospital. Other officers returned fire, striking the suspect several times.  Officer Hanson had been with the Ancorage Police Department in Alaska for eight years.  He is survived by his wife and five children.

The suspect was arrested and sentenced to 119 years.

   

K-9 Officer Mardis, 35, was killed August 23, 1985 while assisting the Kentucky State Police track a double homicide suspect in Mercer County Kentucky (Harrodsburg). After locating the suspect in a thick cornfield the suspect ran from the cornfield into an open field. Troopers on the outer perimeter open fire with Ruger Mini-14s. One round entered the cornfield and hit Officer Mardis between the eyes killing him instantly. Officer Mardis was well know within his field as a top K-9 officer.  Officer Mardis had been with the  Lexington-Fayette Urban County Police Dept. in Kentucky for 13 years.  He is survived by his wife and five daughters.

The suspect Officer Mardis was tracking was apprehended and sentenced to death for the double murder.

Constable Michael Buday, 27, was shot and killed on March 19, 1985 at Teslin Lake, which straddles the Yukon-British Columbia Border. The incident occurred on the shoreline in very thick woods. Constable Buday was stationary and very well covered from an approach from the lake as part of an ERT operational plan. The killer, a Michael Oros, age 33, had lived in the northern regions of Canada for several  years. He proclaimed himself a prophet and a Vietnam veteran. He was known for his violent outbreaks and was suspected in the disappearance of a trapper in 1981 who was his former friend, trapper Gunter Lischy, and was known to have raided wilderness cabins.. Oros became a burglary suspect  when a Whitehorse family had discovered their cabin broken into. The R.C.M.P. used an aircraft to fly over the remote lake area to search for Oros. When he knew they had spotted him, he shot at the aircraft but missed. The police flew back to Teslin, where more officers were recruited to confront Oros on the following day.  Constable Buday, the team's dog handler and twelve other officers dropped  into the area. Oros, an experienced woodsman was armed with two rifles, The suspect managed to circle through the thick woods and sneak up behind him unobserved, shooting him in the back. Constable Buday never saw it coming. Constable Garry Rodgers who was with Constable Buday returned fire killing the suspect.  Dennis Dennison, owner of Coyote Air Services of Teslin, piloted the command plane for the operation. He confirmed Oros' death by flying over the body after the shooting. A week later, over 700 RCMP traveled to Brooks, Alberta--the home of Michael Buday--to say good-bye to their comrade. Constable Buday's police dog “Trooper” led the funeral procession from the church to the cemetery. Buday's name joined the Honor Roll of nearly 200 RCMP who have died in the line of duty.  After the Oros shoot-out, Atlin RCMP Corporal Barry Erickson discovered the bones of Gunter Lischy while searching the area near Oros' cabin with Constable Jack Warner of Teslin. A forensic pathologist examined the bones and determined Lischy died from a bullet in the back. A coroner's jury deliberated for just over an hour before concluding that Michael Oros had killed Gunter Lischy

   

New York State Trooper Gary E. Kubasiak, 32, died on August 30, 1982, from gunshot wounds to his chest from a 30-30 rifle, on Route 62, Town of Dayton, Cattaraugus County, at the residence of James Swan (former mental patient and school mate known to Kubasiak). Trooper Kubasiak went to the residence with other New York State police members. Swan opened the kitchen door for Kubasiak, let him in and shot him three times before he even had a chance to defend himself or order his dog to attack. Investigator Timothy Howard then entered the residence through a bedroom window, unaware that Kubasiak had been shot. Howard heard Swan threaten to shoot K-9 Donivan and ordered him to drop the rifle. Swan responded by pointing the weapon at Howard, at which time Howard shot Swan in the chest and left him for dead. Howard then went to Kubasiak's aid, and advised the other officers to call for an ambulance. Zone Sergeant Berger entered the residence to check on Swan's condition. Swan had crawled into a bedroom and closed the door. When Berger kicked the door open he was confronted by Swan with a shotgun pointed at him. Swan slammed the door shut, Berger then called for assistance. Later Swan opened the bedroom door and surrendered to troopers. Trooper Kubasiak had been with the New York State Police for nine years.

James J. Swan escaped from a holding cell in the Cattaraugus County courthouse in May of 1984 when he broke away from sheriff deputies and escaped through an emergency exit door of the court house in Little Valley. Deputy sheriff's were about to lead Mr. Swan into the courtroom of County Judge J. James Crawley, who had ordered them to remove Mr. Swan's handcuffs and leg irons before bringing him in. James Swan was captured five miles away by local law enforcement at 8:21 p.m. in the community of Mansfield ending a manhunt that had covered a wide area of western New York and involved hundreds of officers.

 

K9 Officer Whiteman, age 35, was killed on March 26, 1982 in a helicopter accident while assisting patrol officers during a high speed car chase. Dispatchers lost contact with the helicopter during the chase. A deputy sheriff found the crash site at about 1:30 a.m. and was later discovered to have struck a tree and crashed near 66th Street and Lakewood Avenue.  Officer Kelly Smythe, who was with Officer Whiteman, was also killed in the crash. The helicopter program was only ten days old at the time of the accident.  Both Officer Whiteman and Officer Smythe served Tulsa Police Department in Oklahoma and were 5 year veterans of the department. Officer Whiteman had over 1500 hours of flight time and had flown helicopters for the Army in Vietnam and survived being shot down twice.  Officer Whiteman is survived by his wife and one son, Chance Frederick Whiteman IV.