Sussex community honors slain state trooper

The Sussex County community came together Dec. 28, to remember Delaware State Police Cpl. Matthew T. “Ty” Snook at a candlelight vigil on The Circle in Georgetown.

Snook, 34, was shot and killed in the line of duty Dec. 23 at the state Division of Motor Vehicles office in New Castle. The suspect, Rahman Rose, 44, was shot and killed by a responding officer.

Snook, a 10-year state police veteran, was honored as a hero.

“We will never forget his selfless devotion to duty in the actions he took to keep others safe from harm as this tragedy unfolded,” said Robert Longo, Townsend police chief, who delivered the invocation.

Gov. Matt Meyer was among the elected officials who delivered remarks at the vigil. He said people owe their freedom to the men and women of Delaware who choose to serve.

“They are out there looking over all of us. Please, not just tonight, not just tomorrow, but every day, let us pause to honor these heroes who raise their hands and say, ‘Send me,’” Meyer said.

Georgetown has faced similar tragedies: Officer Chad Spicer was killed in the line of duty Sept. 1, 2009, and Chief Harvey Gregg died in the line of duty April 4, 1998.

Sen. Brian Pettyjohn, R-Georgetown, who helped organize the vigil, said that is why Snook was honored, even though he was not from the local community.

“When the unimaginable happened here in Georgetown, the outpouring of support we had in our town was amazing,” he said. “After that, there was an unspoken pact that each time the unspeakable has happened in another community in Delaware, we show up. We support the family and the colleagues of the fallen.”

Ruth Ann Spicer, Chad Spicer’s mother, said, like police officers, the entire community is there to protect and serve.

“I want the Snook family to know that they are always going to be remembered and that they are always going to have love and support in every county, in the whole state, because that’s what Delaware is,” Spicer said.

The Chad Spicer memorial, which has been in The Circle since 2011, was recently damaged and is being repaired. Ruth Ann Spicer said it will soon be returned to a new location in The Circle.

Snook is survived by his wife and 1-year old daughter.

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation announced Dec. 29 that it would pay off the mortgage on Snook’s home.

Services honoring Snook will be held Monday, Jan. 5, in the Bob Carpenter Center at the University of Delaware in Newark. Visitation will be held 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with a memorial service immediately following.