Killing of Suzanne Hopper

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Suzanne Waughtel Hopper
Born11 November 1970
Died1 January 2011(2011-01-01) (aged 40)
Enon Beach, Ohio
Police career
DepartmentClark County Sheriff's Office
Service years1999–2011
Badge no.12-69
Memorials
  • Deputy Suzanne Hopper Memorial Highway
  • Suzanne Hopper Act

Suzanne Waughtel Hopper (née Bauer, 11 November, 1970 – 1 January 2011) was a Clark County, Ohio deputy killed on duty on New Year's Day of 2011, which led to the adoption of the Suzanne Hopper Act to improve officer safety when dealing with offenders who have a known history of mental illness.

Personal life[edit]

Suzanne Hopper was a 12-year veteran Deputy Sheriff with the Clark County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) and former Officer of the Year. She won multiple gold medals in Police Olympics weightlifting competitions.[1] She was known for once going six years straight without a sick day. After her first daughter was born in 1992 with special needs, Hopper became involved in charity events for causes like the Special Olympics, for which she started a local volleyball fundraiser in 2008.[1] She married her second husband, Matthew Hopper, in 2010. She had two children from her first marriage, Emily Bauer and Charles Waughtel, and two stepchildren, Madeleine and Cole Hopper. After Matthew Hopper died on 10 April 2014 at the age of 38 following a battle with cancer, the children were taken in by Suzanne Hopper's parents, Charles and Bonnie Bauer.[1][2]

Shooting[edit]

On 1 January 2011, Deputy Hopper was responding to a call about shots being fired at the Enon Beach Campground with her partner Sergeant Dustin White.[3] Around 11:35 a.m., while her partner was interviewing the family whose trailer had been shot at, Hopper was shot at very close range while she was attempting to photograph a footprint. The gunman pointed a H&R 12-gauge break-action shotgun at her from inside his trailer and shot her with no warning.[4] According to Clark County Sheriff Gene Kelly, Hopper "never had the opportunity to return fire or take cover".[3]

A gun battle erupted between the suspect and other responding officers as they attempted to retrieve Hopper's body. According to an eyewitness, one officer attempted desperately to reach Hopper's body: he repeatedly asked over radio if he could get her but was denied because the scene was not secure. The police used a loudspeaker to ask the suspect to surrender himself for several minutes, before returning fire on his trailer and killing him.[3]

A German Township officer, Jeremy Blum, was also wounded.[3] He was flown to Miami Valley Hospital in stable condition.[5] The proximity between the Enon Beach trailer park and Interstate 70 led to the highway being closed for about an hour.

Gunman[edit]

The gunman was identified as 57-year-old Michael Ferryman, who had a history of mental illness and violence. A girl living in the same trailer park described him as "a quiet person" who became unpleasant if angered.[6] He was previously involved in another shootout with police in 2001, in Morgan County, for which he had been found not guilty due to insanity. He was released and supposed to be under supervision, but according to Clark County Sheriff Gene Kelly "the supervision failed" and there was no notification that Ferryman had moved to Clark County. Sheriff Kelly said if they had been aware of Ferryman's history, Hopper's response to the initial call would have been much more careful.[4] Ferryman's girlfriend was sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of giving Ferryman the gun used to kill Hopper.[7]

Legacy[edit]

A funeral service was held on 7 January 2011, attended by thousands of officers from across the United States despite heavy snowfall. A 1,600-vehicle procession traversed Clark County. Hopper was posthumously awarded "deputy of the year".[8] During a speech given in May 2012 at the National Peace Officers Memorial Service, President Barack Obama honored Hopper's memory.[9][10] Her name can be found among the 20,000 fellow fallen officers at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington D.C.[11] A Springfield News-Sun photo of the event was later named in Life Magazine's "most memorable photos of the year".[1] The video footage of the shootout was featured in the final episode of World's Wildest Police Videos.

A segment of Interstate 70 was renamed "Deputy Suzanne Hopper Memorial Highway".[12]

Suzanne Hopper Act[edit]

The Suzanne Hopper Act is a law intended to create a database usable by law enforcement to track violent offenders ruled as mentally ill by Ohio courts.[13]

In June 2013, the bill was sponsored by Republican state senators Chris Widener of Springfield and Bill Beagle of Tipp City, and was signed into law by governor John Kasich.[14][15]

The law is credited with multiple instances of improving officer safety.[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Wedell, Katie (1 January 2016). "A true public servant". Springfield News-Sun. Archived from the original on 14 July 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  2. ^ Wichie, Allison (14 April 2014). "Husband of fallen Clark deputy dies of cancer". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d "NEWS Deputy, suspect in Enon Beach trailer park shootout are dead". Medina Gazette. Associated Press. 3 January 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  4. ^ a b c Wedell, Katie (26 December 2015). "Deputy Suzanne Hopper Act improving safety for officers". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  5. ^ Loehr, Mandy (9 May 2016). "SHOOT-OUT SURVIVOR ENCOURAGES FELLOW OFFICERS". Examiner.com. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  6. ^ Martinez, Edecio (3 January 2011). "Deputy Suzanne Hopper Killed in Shootout at Ohio Trailer Park; Suspect Also Killed". CBS News. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  7. ^ "ODMP Remembers". Officer Down Memorial Page. Archived from the original on 25 January 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  8. ^ Smith-Hebson, Brandon (12 November 2011). "Hopper posthumously awarded deputy of the year". Springfield News-Sun. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  9. ^ Obama, Barack (15 May 2012). "Remarks at the National Peace Officers Memorial Service". Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  10. ^ Madhani, Aamer (15 May 2012). "Obama honors fallen police officers at memorial". USA Today. Archived from the original on 12 November 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  11. ^ Newton, Riley. "Clark County Sheriff's Deputy Suzanne Hopper remembered 10 years after she was fatally shot". springfield-news-sun. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
  12. ^ "5533.648 Deputy Suzanne Hopper Memorial Highway". Ohio Laws and Rules. 22 March 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2017. In addition to any other name prescribed in the Revised Code or otherwise, that portion of the highway known as interstate route number seventy, commencing at the intersection of that highway and interstate route number six hundred seventy-five and proceeding in an easterly direction to the point where that highway crosses over Enon road, within Clark county, shall be known as the "Deputy Suzanne Hopper Memorial Highway."
  13. ^ Weiner, Richard (7 February 2014). "Courts must report violent offenders with mental illness". Akron Legal News. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  14. ^ McGregor, Mark (21 March 2013). "Senate passes Suzanne Hopper act". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  15. ^ "Senate Bill 7" (PDF). Ohio Judges. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
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