Group forms to offer helping hand for those who knew fallen officers

The Kalispell-based nonprofit Montana Concerns of Police Survivors stands ready to help and offer a hand up to family, friends and coworkers of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.

“We want to be there for people who go through this,” said the group’s president, Becky Sturdevant.

“This just gives another resource, another helping hand, I guess, for some people ... It’s just a way to try to help other people in the same boat you were in.”

Between 140 and 160 law enforcement officers die each year in the line of duty, according to the national organization Concerns of Police Survivors. That’s a reality that has hit home in recent years.

Sturdevant started working to form Montana COPS after her son, Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Evan F. Schneider, died in the line of duty when his patrol vehicle was hit head-on by another driver on U.S. 2 in August 2008.

Schneider was one of three Montana Highway Patrol troopers killed in the line of duty in Flathead County in a span of just 18 months.

Trooper David Graham had died in October 2007 when his cruiser was struck by an inattentive driver who crossed the center line of U.S. 2.

Trooper Mike Haynes died in March 2009 after being struck head-on by a drunk driver on U.S. 93 south of Kalispell.

Stretches of those area highways have since been named in honor of each of the fallen troopers.

Sturdevant said she decided to try to form the local chapter of COPS after attending National Police Week in May 2010 and later meeting another Kalispell woman whose sister, Tina Griswold, was one of four police officers shot and killed in a coffee shop near Tacoma in November 2009.

“We kind of got together and decided maybe we could start a chapter,” Sturdevant said.

Montana COPS held its first official meeting in September 2010, making Montana one of 37 states with a local COPS chapter. The following December, Highway Patrol Trooper David Delaittre was shot and killed while on duty near Three Forks.

“That kind of showed us we’ve really got something to do here,” Sturdevant said.

Members of the group participated in the second annual Hike for Heroes in July, hiking at Whitefish Mountain Resort.

An annual fundraiser for Montana COPS and the Montana Hope Project, Hike for Heroes was the idea of Evan Schneider’s younger brother, Trooper James Schneider, and his wife, Lacy.

The first Hike for Heroes in July 2010 primarily honored the three Montana Highway Patrol troopers recently killed in Flathead County, Sturdevant said.

This year’s hike honored Delaittre and 24 other fallen law enforcement officers.

“That kind of expanded our scope and we made posters for along the trail for all the officers we honored,” Sturdevant said.

Those posters included Libby Police Chief John “Ferd” Bockman, killed in 1924;  Columbia Falls Town Marshal Leslie A. Green, killed in 1937; and Alex Couture, a tribal police officer of the Flathead Indian Nation who was killed in 1963.

As the Hike for Heroes event grows, more and more law enforcement officers are expected to be honored.

“We’ve got a lot more names for next year already,” Sturdevant said. “We don’t want them to be forgotten, or the sacrifices that they and their families made to keep us safe.”

Trooper Michael Ren was among the officers honored during this year’s Hike for Heroes. Ren was shot to death in Eureka in April 1978. His son, Trooper Jerril Ren, is vice president of Montana COPS and will take over the presidency of the organization in September.

Ren, who was a partner of Schneider, Graham and Haynes and helped train Delaittre through the law enforcement academy, said he has been involved with Montana COPS since its inception.

“It’s such a good organization and cause in my opinion, from my past and my recent past with all these local officers being killed. It helps families after a traumatic situation in their life. It helps the kids and spouses and coworkers ... I want it to succeed as best as possible,” he said.

For more information about the group, its services or how to make a tax-deductible donation, call 250-1250 or visit www.montanacops.org.

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.