Portion of Wisconsin highway renamed in honor of fallen officers
A portion of highway where two Wisconsin officers were killed in April was renamed in their honor on Tuesday morning.
Officers Emily Breidenbach and Hunter Scheel were shot and killed during a traffic stop earlier this year which also left a suspect dead.
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Barron County officials say they approved renaming the stretch of Highway SS from Chetek to Cameron last month.
The section was officially named Officer Emily Breidenbach and Officer Hunter Scheel Memorial Highway during a ceremony Tuesday morning.
Scheel, 23, was with the Cameron Police Department for just one year while Breidenbach, 32, was with Chetek Police for about five years.
“Some days are easier, some days are pretty hard,” Chetek Police Chief Ron Ambrozaitis said.
To help through those difficult days, Ambrozaitis says the support from the community continues to help officers in the department.
“Our community support is 100%, and a guarantee it will go on beyond that, we have a good community, an awesome community,” Ambrozaitis said.
“I’m still getting cards in the mail, I got one from a young child in Arizona yesterday, it just said, ‘We love you and we’re praying for you,'” Steffen added.
Steffen says the smallest gesture goes a long way, and the new sign on the road honoring the fallen officers does as well.
“It’s another step in the healing process for all of us,” Steffen said.
As the ceremony ended, the gathered crowd began to leave but the sign remains, serving as a constant reminder of two lives that were given to protect and serve the community for those who pass.
“We’ll get through it, we’re a family,” Ambrozaitis said. “Every day is a little bit better. We’ll never forget, it will always been in our minds.”
