Twenty seven years ago today, 38 year old Paxton Police Chief Robert J. Mortell was gunned down while chasing three burglary suspects in the woods off Route 31 in Holden, MA. Chief Mortell was helping Holden Police to find the suspects with his tracking dog. He was confronting one of the subjects at gunpoint when the man opened fire, striking the Chief twice and killing him. Chief Mortell leaves a wife and three children. The man who killed him is serving a sentence of life in prison and has been denied parole three times.
Click HERE to read Chief Mortell's story and write a tribute on the Officer Down Memorial Page.
(Photo courtesy Officer Down Memorial Page)