FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ) – One local community is using National Police Week to remember a recently fallen officer.
State Trooper Trevor Casper was killed near Fond du Lac in a March 2015 shootout with a suspected bank robber.
Terry Gallant is the property manager at Forest Plaza, which is near the spot of Casper’s death.
“Immediately, a little impromptu memorial sprang up right along Berger Parkway. The community responded with flowers and candles and teddy bears and plaques. They’re all right there to this day, and it has been very well-tended.”
Employees at a nearby Pick ‘n Save donated money for a bench to be placed at the site.
The store then held a fundriaser where officers bagged groceries for one day in exchange for donations to the memorial.
“They were able to raise over $10,000. It was pretty amazing. The response from the community was fabulous.”
Gallant notes that money was used to bolster the site.
“We had to have a concrete pad poured for the bench to sit on. Then, the plan grew a little more, and we put in a whole memorial garden.”
The public is invited to a memorial garden dedication ceremony, which is scheduled to start Saturday at noon.
The ceremony will include a presentation from the Honor Guard, a helicopter flyover by Flight For Life, speeches, and the monument unveiling.
