Fallen Va. Tech Officer’s Name Added to National Memorial
WASHINGTON, DC — Virginia Tech Police Officer Deriek W. Crouse’s name, along with two other officers killed in the line of duty in 2011, will be unveiled at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC, during an annual ceremony on Thursday. They are among 362 fallen law enforcement officers nationwide whose names are being added to the Memorial this spring.
Shortly after 12:15 pm on December 8, 2011, Officer Crouse was administering a routine traffic stop in a campus parking lot when he was ambushed in what appeared to be an unprovoked attack—and tragically became a fatal shooting. After firing at Officer Crouse, the gunman, a student visiting from a nearby college, fled the scene and was eventually found by authorities with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The 39-year-old devoted and well-regarded law enforcement professional joined Virginia Tech’s Police Department six months after the infamous 2007 campus massacre, which took the lives of more than 30 people. Officer Crouse was a member of the Virginia Tech Police Emergency Response Team since February 2011, and he received an award in 2008 for his commitment to the department’s “Driving Under the Influence” efforts.
Officer Crouse formerly worked at the New River Valley Jail in Dublin, VA, the Montgomery County (VA) Sheriff’s Department and was a U.S. Army veteran. He is survived by his family, including his wife, five children and step-children.
Dedicated in October 1991, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial is the nation’s monument to officers who have died in the line of duty. Unveiling day takes place each April to symbolically commence the solemn process of engraving new names onto the Memorial’s marble walls.
The 362 names being engraved this spring include 163 officers who were killed in 2011, plus 199 recently discovered officers who died in previous years. All 362 names will be formally dedicated on the Memorial during the 24th Annual Candlelight Vigil on the evening of May 13, during National Police Week. After this year’s names are engraved, there will be a total of 19,660 officers honored on the Memorial.
Officer Crouse’s name is being engraved on Panel 64-East, Line 27, of the Memorial, along with the following names: Albany (GA) Police Officer Terry Mae Lewis-Flemming who died October 28, 2011 and Riverside (MO) Master Patrolman Jefferson Gerald Taylor, who died on June 3, 2011.
Related Articles:
- Va. Tech Gunman Identified
- Va. Tech Quick to Issue Alerts in Officer Shooting
- 166 Police Officers Killed on Duty in 2011
- 11 Officers Shot in 24 Hours Causes Fear of ‘War on Cops’
- Safety Zone: Initial Lessons Learned From the Virginia Tech Tragedy
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