Trooper Casper remembered on anniversary of death in the line of duty
FOND DU LAC - If you drive past, you might miss it.
Trooper Trevor Casper's memorial sits quietly under a tree and covered with snow.
A short while later, two State Patrol vehicles pull up to the curb. Two troopers and a woman walk toward the tree a put down a single rose.
They stand stoically. If they have something to say, the wind steals the words as it passes through.
A similar scene, likely with more people, will be held in Madison and Washington, D.C. at the state and national law enforcement memorials in May.
Casper's name will be forever etched in stone alongside the many fallen law enforcement officers who also lost their lives.
A few hours before the March 24, 2015 shootout in Fond du Lac, the bank robbery and murder suspect Steven Snyder, shot and killed Tom Christ in Wausaukee.
After making his way down to Fond du Lac, a shootout between Snynder and Casper happened on North Berger Parkway. Casper was able to kill the suspect before he died.
"It is certain that more innocent lives would have been endangered or lost had Trooper Casper not ended the active and ongoing threat the suspect posed to the community."
Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney said those words during a news conference last July.
Last fall, Casper's family accepted the Medal of Valor and Purple Heart from the State Patrol.
Members of the Casper family have remained somewhat quiet about their loss. They declined an on-camera interview and that's okay because they lost a loving son and brother.
Last summer, Casper's family released the following statement, it said in part, "Trevor always had a knack for putting others at ease, was blessed to have many friends around him and always put others before himself."
The Wisconsin Law Enforcement Memorial will be held May 20.
