ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) – Police in northern Illinois are hoping to turn the area blue to honor a fallen officer one year after he died during a traffic stop.
The Rockford Register Star reports that the Rockford Police Benevolent and Protective Association Unit 6 is asking residents and business owners to install blue lights on the exterior of buildings this week in memory of officer Jaimie Cox.
Cox stopped a pickup truck driven by Eddie Patterson on Nov. 5, 2017. Patterson was driving on a revoked license and with expired license plates.
The Winnebago-Boone County Integrity Task Force says Patterson began to accelerate while Cox was leaning into the vehicle. The pickup truck crashed into a tree. Cox shot and killed Patterson, but Cox died of injuries suffered from the crash.
