Police From Across The West Show Out For Fallen Sheridan Officer

SHERIDAN — The Bruce Hoffman Golden Dome on the campus of Sheridan College served as a kind of megachurch Friday for the law enforcement community.

It was where they all went to heal.

Police officers traveled from tiny towns in rural northern California to Nebraska — and probably every law enforcement jurisdiction in Wyoming. Boise and Yuma also had representation.

More than half of the 1,800 people who attended the memorial service for Sheridan Police Sgt. Nevada Krinkee sat straight-up attentively in their seats for 90 minutes as they listened to moving tributes to their fallen brother in blue.

For sure, the superlatives came from all corners of his family: sister, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, mom and others.

But it was his extended family who had the most to say after the service. These are his other brothers and sisters.

‘We Show Our Support’

“I’m proud of the way our profession handles losses,” said Brian Eads, an investigator with the Gering (Nebraska) Police Department. “But it’s got to quit happening so frequently. We’re showing our support in being here today. Anytime a law enforcement officer dies in the line of service, we show our support.”

Cenold Belizaire, an honor guard officer from the Yuma (Arizona) Police Department, didn’t say much, wanting to redirect the attention on Krinkee’s mother who attended the service for her son killed in in the line of duty Feb. 13 in downtown Sheridan.

The shooting death of Kriinkee led to the assailant fleeing the scene and eventually barricading himself in a house not far from where Krinkee died. The assailant was shot and killed as he tried to bolt from the home, which had been destroyed when police tried to pry him out.

Police officers from Yuma knocked on the door of Krinkee’s mother to notify her of the sergeant’s death. They weren’t about to let her be alone with her grief.

‘One Big Family’

The memorial service laid bare some of the raw emotions in the community, which also is what drew some of them together.

“We are one big family. We are all brothers and sisters,” said Bart Olson, an undersheriff from the Natrona County Sheriff’s Office in Wyoming.

“What a waste. It was unnecessary and tragic. It didn’t have to happen,” said Olson of Krinkee’s death.

Darrin Von Helf, an officer with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in Susanville, California, joined with his BLM colleague from the Buffalo office, Jessica Korhut, to pay their respects at the service.

Susanville is an old logging and mining community near the Nevada border.

Von Helf said that he was a former police officer in the gritty community of San Bernardino in suburban Los Angeles, and thought he had left behind a world where police officers are under siege.

“In a community like this, it’s not to say it’s expected, but we know how law enforcement supports each other when something like this happens,” Von Helf said.

The BLM agent said that he was impressed by the support from the Sheridan community – especially since he participated in the 5-mile-long funeral procession that carried Krinkee’s body down Main Street to the Golden Dome.

“I saw the support along the streets. This is what I expected from Wyoming,” he said. “The streets were overflowing with people, with some waving flags.”

‘This One Really Hit Close To Home’

He also was stirred by the kids who showed up from local schools. A recurring theme in Krinkee’s eulogy was his love of children.

“There were a lot of kids, a lot of school kids, pouring into the streets to show support,” von Horn said.

BLM’s Korhut said that Krinkee’s shooting death hasn’t been easy to absorb.

“This one really hit close to home,” she said. “This was in my home town, in the state of Wyoming. I didn’t think it would ever hit this close.”

Jack Fetter, an honor guard officer from the Casper Police Department, helped with six other officers from his department with the 21-gun salute for Krinkee, whose wife sat in front of the fallen officer’s American-flag draped coffin during the service.

“I didn’t know Sgt. Krinkee, but this was very tragic and very surreal,” Fetter said. “It’ll take time to process.”

Casper Sgt. Mike Paschke also participated as an honor guard.

“I’ll do anything to support the family of a fallen officer,” he said. “I’m happy to be part of this.”

More Coverage

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Pat Maio can be reached at pat@cowboystatedaily.com.