Washington State Patrol Issues Statement on the Deaths of Four Lakewood Police Officers

"While we have many ranks and honors that we offer for exemplary service, the most coveted honor is to simply be respected by your colleagues as 'a good troop" - State Patrol Chief John R. Batiste

Members of the Washington State Patrol Honor Guard pay tribute at the memorial wall in Washington, D.C., during National Police Memorial week. Courtesy: statetroopers.org

(SEATTLE, Wash.) - The Washington State Patrol mourns the deaths of four City of Lakewood officers killed in what appears to be a planned ambush yesterday morning.

While we honor the lives and sacrifice of all four officers, the death of Officer Ron Owens hits especially close to home. Owens was a former state trooper, having served our agency from 1997 until he left to join the Lakewood Police Department in 2004.

Owens spent the bulk of his state patrol career in King and Pierce counties assigned to uniformed patrol. As a trooper-cadet, he spent about 15 months working as part of the patrol's Commercial Vehicle Division at the Plymouth weigh station in eastern Washington.

"While we have many ranks and honors that we offer for exemplary service, the most coveted honor is to simply be respected by your colleagues as 'a good troop,'" said State Patrol Chief John R. Batiste. "Ron Owens was most definitely a good troop."