Puyallup dedicates memorial to three fallen officers and K9 Dakota

Speakers at the Puyallup public safety building dedication formally dedicated a memorial wall honoring three fallen officers from the department's history and a fallen police canine, K9 Dakota. Chaplain Mike Boister led a prayer asking for comfort for families and colleagues and asking that the memorial stand as a place of remembrance.

Chief Scott Engel and other speakers read accounts of the line-of-duty deaths: Marshall William Jeffrey, who was shot while investigating suspicious activity near a junction and later survived by a wife and three children; Chief Frank Chadwick and Officer Harry Storm, who were shot while attempting to arrest a bank robbery suspect and whose deaths were described in the historical record; and K9 Dakota, a German shepherd credited with more than 200 arrests who died after being struck by a car in 2006 while assisting a Pierce County Sheriff's Department track.

Brian Johnson, executive director of the Behind the Badge Foundation, spoke about law enforcement remembrance and noted that his organization reviews line-of-duty deaths in staff meetings to preserve history and support families. He said the memorial connects current officers with the "history and the loss and the sacrifice" of those who served before them.

The program included a moment of silence and invited attendees to view historical items recovered from a time capsule from the old 1968 station. Organizers said the new memorial and the building's public spaces would provide opportunities for quiet reflection and remembrance for families and community members.