BARRON COUNTY, Wis. — A community is mourning after two Wisconsin police officers were killed Saturday afternoon.
Officials said the shooting happened during a traffic stop around 3:38 p.m. in the Village of Cameron. A suspect exchanged gunfire with the officers before dying at a nearby hospital in Barron County.
Both a Chetek Police Officer and a Cameron Police Officer were pronounced dead on scene according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
Sunday, a memorial started growing outside of the Chetek Police Department. Dozens of people showed up with flowers, candles, and stuffed animals to honor the fallen officer from Chetek. Down the road in Cameron, another memorial was taking shape in front of their police station.
Tammy Dunham has lived in Chetek for three years. She came to pay her respects to an officer that once had her back.
“I had a problem one time and [they] came and helped me out,” Durham explained.
Many others passing by the memorial said they personally knew the fallen hero from Chetek, sharing special memories of them. Chetek Mayor Jeff Martin grew up with that officer.
“This officer very involved in our schools. It’s going to be a really tough week for Chetek kids,” Martin said.
Chetek is a community of just over 2,000 people.
“We’re a really tight-knit community,” Martin said. “Things happen in places, but they don’t happen here.”
Other community members agreed, saying these kinds of tragedies don’t happen often in Barron County. Many residents told me they are now leaning on each other for support.
“In times like this, people band together, they stick tighter, and we get through,” Martin said.
The day was spent remembering the fallen heroes and making a call to action.
‘Hopefully we can just love each other,” Dunham cried. “This stuff shouldn’t be happening.”
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