Trevor Casper (May 21, 1993 – March 24, 2015) was a state trooper for the

Wisconsin State Patrol The Wisconsin State Patrol is the state patrol for the state of Wisconsin and is a division of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. The Wisconsin State Patrol enforces traffic and criminal laws, oversees the motor carrier safety and weight ...

. On his first solo assignment, Casper was shot and killed in Fond du Lac attempting to apprehend a bank robbery and murder suspect on March 24, 2015. He was the youngest police officer killed in the line of duty in Wisconsin.

Early life and career

Casper was born in

Sheboygan, Wisconsin Sheboygan () is a city in and the county seat of Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 49,929 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a populati ...

, and later moved to

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

with his family, where he was a 2011 graduate of

Kiel High School Kiel High School is a public secondary school located in the town of Kiel, Wisconsin Kiel is a city in Calumet and Manitowoc counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 3,738 at the 2010 census. Of this, 3,429 residents liv ...

and was on the school's soccer and wrestling teams. He studied at

Lakeshore Technical College Lakeshore Technical College (LTC) is a public community college in Cleveland, Wisconsin. It is a member of the 16 schools in the Wisconsin Technical College System. The school offers associate degree and technical diploma programs, as well as othe ...

in Cleveland, Wisconsin, where he graduated in May 2014 with a degree in

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

. In college, he was the student government president and active in the

color guard In military organizations, a colour guard (or color guard) is a detachment of soldiers assigned to the protection of regimental colours and the national flag. This duty is so prestigious that the military colour is generally carried by a young ...

. Casper began his training to become a Wisconsin State Trooper at the Wisconsin State Patrol Academy at Fort McCoy on July 13, 2014. In December that year, Casper was sworn in as a trooper.

Death

The suspect, Steven Snyder, was believed to have robbed a bank in Wausaukee, Wisconsin earlier on March 24, 2015. Approximately one hour after the bank robbery, Snyder abandoned the vehicle he was driving, shot dead 59-year-old Thomas C. Christ, and stole a second vehicle. Casper located the second vehicle as it was being driven southbound on

Interstate 41 Interstate 41 (I-41) is a north–south Interstate Highway connecting the interchange of I-94 and U.S. Route 41 (US 41), located south of the Wisconsin–Illinois border at the end of the Tri-State Tollway in metropolitan C ...

in Fond du Lac and began following it. He was directing Trooper Clarissa Justmann, Sgt. Andrew Hyer, and Capt. Anthony Burrell (the latter become Superintendent of the Wisconsin State Patrol from 2019 to 2022) to their location when Snyder pulled into a

Pick 'n Save Roundy's Supermarkets (also known as Roundy's) is an American supermarket operator. It owns and operates stores under the names of Pick 'n Save, Metro Market, and Mariano's Fresh Market. The chain is a subsidiary of Kroger. Roundy's operates 14 ...

supermarket parking lot and stopped. Snyder discharged nine 5.7mm shots from an

FN Five-seven The FN Five-seven (stylized as Five-seveN) is a semi-automatic pistol designed and manufactured by FN Herstal in Belgium. The pistol is named for its 5.7×28mm (.224 in) bullet diameter, and the trademark capitalization style is intended to ...

pistol at Casper, who was hit by three rounds in the neck, chest and left hand. Casper, though mortally wounded, discharged 12 .40-caliber rounds from his

Glock Glock is a brand of polymer-Receiver (firearms), framed, Recoil operation#Short recoil operation, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H., Glock Ges.m.b.H. The ...

duty weapon, and struck Snyder once in the chest, fatally wounding him. Casper was pronounced dead en route to the hospital. It was announced on July 12, 2016, that Casper would be inducted into the State of Wisconsin Fire & Police Hall of Fame.

The suspect

Police confirmed 38-year-old Steven Timothy Snyder from Michigan shot and killed Casper in the shootout. Snyder was also killed in the exchange of gunfire.

Response and reactions

Before the shooting involving Casper, the Fond du Lac Police Department had been investigating a bank robbery just blocks away. The day following the shooting, Governor Scott Walker issued a statement saying, "Trooper Trevor Casper was killed while bravely serving his community and doing his duty to keep our citizens safe. Tonette and I are praying for Trooper Casper's family and our thoughts are with them and the broader law enforcement community at this difficult time."

References

External links

Wisconsin State Trooper Trevor Casper funeral procession
''YouTube'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Casper, Trevor 1993 births 2015 deaths American police officers killed in the line of duty 2015 murders in the United States People from Sheboygan, Wisconsin Deaths by firearm in Wisconsin People from Kiel, Wisconsin