Wife Of Fallen Officer Writes Open Letter After Her Husband Was Tragically Shot While On Duty

Apr 08, 2019 by apost team

Police officers are among our nation’s most inspiring citizens. Serving our communities and protecting our families, officers sacrifice and risk their lives to make our country a safer place.

At times, this service ends in tragedy. According to USA Today, 144 officers gave their lives while performing their duties in 2018.

While communities feel the grief of the loss of one of their protectors, it cannot be compared to how devastating the loss is for the officer’s family.

The wife of a fallen police officer from Illinois recently wrote a letter on the death of her husband, telling the world of the grief her family still feels and of how blessed she was to have such an amazing person in her life.

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According to CBS, Deputy Jacob Keltner of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office was tragically murdered by a suspect while serving an arrest warrant earlier last month. A 12-year veteran of the force, Deputy Keltner’s loss hit the community hard. Dozens of places went out of their way to show their respect for the slain officer.

A Texas Roadhouse restaurant set up a tribute of what they called the Fallen Hero table. Each part of the table represented a different aspect of the community’s grief, including a lemon representing the bitterness of Deputy Keltner’s fate and a salt shaker representing all the tears shed for the officer.

Gary Rosenburg, the owner of Crystal Lake Chrysler Jeep Dodge, also decided to honor Deputy Keltner. Deputy Keltner lived very close to the dealership and had bought a van there two years prior.

To show his gratitude for all that Deputy Keltner did for the community, Rosenburg paid-off the remainder of the fallen officer’s car loan. He told WICS that it was the right thing to do.

The most stirring tribute for Deputy Keltner came from his wife Becki. In a gut-wrenching letter to the community, She wrote,

“I am writing this letter because my husband, Jacob Keltner, should be remembered not as another statistic but as a man, a great man, who sacrificed his life to protect others.”

Becki told readers of how the two met and fell in love, eventually welcoming two boys to their family.

An avid sports fan, Deputy Keltner loved to attend Chicago Cubs games. Above all, Becki told of how great a cop her husband was, willing to sacrifice everything to ensure the safety of his fellow officers. While Becki’s grief is overwhelming, she asks that the community follow her husband’s example and treat everyone with love and compassion.

What do you think of Becki’s tribute to her fallen husband? Let us know in the comments - and make sure you pass this along to your friends and family.