Kentucky State Police spokesman Sgt. Billy Gregory says the mother of fallen Trooper Cameron Ponder and the sister-in-law of a fallen Philadelphia police officer have turned their tragedies into an honorable holiday tradition. In doing so, he adds they have helped other families like theirs begin to heal.
According to Sgt. Gregory, The Fallen Heroes Wreath Program was started by Michelle Pawlowski, whose brother-in-law was killed in the line of duty in February 2009. He says she was inspired by the national ‘Wreaths Across America’ program and with the help of her family, they produced and placed Christmas wreaths at the final resting places of fallen law enforcement officers during the holiday season.
Sgt. Gregory says Michelle shared photos of the wreaths in a Facebook group for families of fallen officers, which was seen by Brenda Tiffany, the mother of fallen KSP Trooper Cameron Ponder. Her son was 31-years old when he was fatally shot during a routine traffic stop on Interstate 24 in Lyon County September 2015. She commented on the post and from there the two women immediately connected, even though they were 600 miles apart.
Pawlowski says she sent Tiffany a wreath for her son Cameron and before she knew it, they were sending 37 wreaths to the Kentucky State Police.
Tiffany says the original wreath honored her son, but she wanted to be able to honor all of those who were part of KSP, which has 37 fallen officers dating back to 1948.
Sgt. Gregory says this is the second year KSP received Christmas wreaths to place at each gravesite of fallen KSP units in memory of Trooper Ponder.
For more information about the Fallen Trooper and Officer Memorial click here. To learn more or to contribute to the Fallen Heroes Wreath Program, click here.
