Legislation would honor officers killed in the line of duty

READ ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE

BRANSON MO NEWS: On a summer day in June 1933, Sgt. Benjamin O. Booth of the Missouri State Highway Patrol received a call on his day off. A bank had been robbed in Mexico, Missouri. Booth rushed to set up a roadblock at the intersection of U.S. 40 and U.S. 63.He was joined by Boone County Sheriff Roger I. Wilson. When the two officers stopped and approached a car, the occupants opened fire, shooting both. Wilson died at the scene; Booth was shot twice and died en route to the hospital, according to the highway patrol’s website. He was the first member of the highway patrol to be killed in the line of duty.Now, nearly 85 years later, two bills have been introduced by Sen. Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, to honor the fallen officers by naming portions of Interstate 70 in their memory.

For Booth’s grandchildren, Ben Booth and Kelly Allen, the recognition is more than just a sign. “It would be really, really important to my father and aunt, both deceased; they were very proud of my grandfather,” Ben Booth said. “They endured a lot of hardship because highway patrolmen didn’t have pensions at the time.”“It’s so important that it’s remembered; that just really touches me,” Allen said. “I get goosebumps when I hear about this.”Ben Booth said state troopers took up a small collection for his grandmother to help with the lack of a pension. “It does mean a lot to me,” he said. “It shows good recognition for a good man who died doing his job, who has fallen in the line of duty.”Although her mother won’t see the sign, Allen knows how much it would’ve meant to her. “I know my mother would have been so over the moon,” Allen said. …



Author:

Powered by WPeMatico

All Things Branson Sponsor:

All Things Branson Sponsor:

Comments

comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *