FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ) – Thursday marks the first anniversary of the death of Wisconsin State Trooper Trevor Casper.
The 21-year-old Casper was gunned down in Fond du Lac following a shootout with murder and bank robbery suspect Steven Snyder.
Despite being shot, Casper was able to kill the suspect before he died.
Today, a snow-covered memorial is seen under a tree near where Casper was killed.
“It is certain that more innocent lives would have been endangered or lost had Trooper Casper not ended the active and ongoing threat the suspect posed to the community,” Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney said during a news conference last July.
Casper’s funeral brought thousands of people from across the country to Kiel.
“He was always a friendly funny guy,” said one man who attended Casper’s funeral – a sentiment many who knew and worked with Casper felt.
Several months later, Casper’s family accepted the Medal of Valor and Purple Heart from the State Patrol.
“In my mind, Trooper Casper is a hero. He saved lives that day,” Sgt. Andrew Hyer told FOX 11.
Hyer helped put Trooper Casper into his squad car and left the crime scene to get help.
Caper’s family has remained somewhat quiet about the loss. Last summer, they released the following statement, “Trevor always had a knack for putting others at ease, was blessed to have many friends around him and always put others before himself…we are comforted because we know Trevor will continue to protect and serve, at the highest level, as he looks upon us from above.”
Casper’s name will be added to the state and national law enforcement memorials later this year.
A few hours before the March 24, 2015 shootout in Fond du Lac, Snyder shot and killed Tom Christ in Wausaukee.
