Trooper Nippers’ tragic death shocked the law enforcement community across the nation. Fellow troopers and police officers took it upon themselves to travel from far and wide to honor him.
Nearly 100 law enforcement agencies traveled from all over the country and state in order to honor their fallen brother in blue.
“It’s just a real tragedy to lose a state trooper.”
“We all bleed blue.”
Some Texas law enforcement agencies traveled hours to attend Trooper Nipper’s funeral service.
"The hours to us, it really doesn’t matter. I mean we’ll go to wherever we need to. But we want to show our support and show our love to his coworkers, his brothers and also to his family,” Tommy Jones with the Odessa Police Department said.
... other agencies crossed state lines.
“It’s probably the highest honor that an officer could receive and to his family to show support to them. So it’s a small price to pay to drive 500 miles to come and pay our respects.” Kotter Kasischke with Missouri State Highway Patrol said.
Both troopers and officers alike say this tragedy is a reminder to:
“Always go home and hug my wife when I get there and tell my family I love them before I leave,” Travis Neubauer with Oregon State Police said.
“It could’ve been us. I mean we all identify with the role he had, and we make the same type of stops,” Steven Markgraf with the San Antonio Police Department said.
No matter what state or county road each law enforcement agency patrols, they all walk a thin blue line when they do their job.
“He was a true hero, and we share their loss with them,” Randy Jones with Iowa State Patrol said.
And as a last message to Trooper Nipper...
“Thank you for your service. Thank you for what you did, and we’ve got it from here,” Markgraf added.
Whether on motorcycles or in their vehicles, the numerous law enforcement agencies, as well as over 100 DPS troopers, escorted Trooper Nipper to his final resting place in Belton.
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