Suzanne Hopper

Suzanne Michelle Waughtel-Hopper (born November 11, 1970 in Dayton , Ohio - † January 1, 2011 in Enon , Ohio) was an auxiliary sheriffess ( Deputy ) from Clark County , Ohio. She was shot during a mission.

Shootout in Enon

In the late morning of January 1, 2011, Clark County Police reported a shot in a trailer at Enon Beach Campground near Springfield . Deputy Hopper and her partner Sergeant Dustin White then went to the trailer park and began investigating the incident. While White was speaking to witnesses, Hopper looked for clues nearby. The two officers assumed that the perpetrator was no longer there, but they had donned their protective vests in accordance with the regulations .

When Hopper tried to photograph a footprint, she was suddenly shot in the head from a trailer with a shotgun without warning . The perpetrator then holed up in his trailer and was surrounded by the police. Part of nearby Interstate 70 also had to be closed. The following mission was recorded by camera teams. While Suzanne Hopper lay motionless on the floor, an officer from the German Township was shot and injured in the arm and shoulder during the exchange of fire with the perpetrator . The perpetrator was finally killed during the access by a SWAT team after he did not want to surrender despite repeated requests.

Effects

Suzanne Hopper was married and had two daughters. She has served as a deputy sheriff in Clark County since 1999 and has received numerous commendations for this position. In 2011 she was posthumously named Deputy Sheriff of the Year. President Barack Obama remembered her and two other police officers killed at the 2012 National Peace Officers Memorial Service on Capitol Hill . In 2013, a section of Interstate 70, between Interstate 675 and Enon Road, was renamed Deputy Suzanne Hopper Memorial Highway .

After the incident it became known that the perpetrator Michael Ferryman had shot at police officers in 2001 and could only be persuaded to give up after 26 hours. However, he was acquitted of insanity and sent to a mental institution, from which he was released in 2005. Since there was no conviction, this incident was not recorded in his file and the two officers Hopper and White therefore knew nothing about its potential danger. In order to record unsanitary, acquitted violent criminals in the police system in the future, a law was passed that came into force in September 2013 and is known as the Deputy Suzanne Hopper Act . It was passed 32-1 by the Ohio Senate in March 2013 and submitted to the Ohio House of Representatives in May , where it was approved 92-0. It was signed by Governor John Kasich in June .

Web links

• 'She never had a chance': Mother-of-two deputy sheriff, shot dead in Ohio trailer park gun battle
• Portion Of I-70 To Be Named In Honor Of Fallen Clark County Deputy
• Senate passes Suzanne Hopper act
• Courts must report violent offenders with mental illness
• Obama honors drop police officers at memorial
• Senate Bill 7