fallen-heroes-feb-2017FEBRUARY 1, 2017 RICHMOND, KY – A ceremony to honor fallen Senior Patrol Officer Daniel Ellis of the Richmond Police Department, Kentucky, will be held at the Daniel Ellis Municipal Police Building on Thursday, February 2nd, at 3:00 p.m.

Telmate representatives, Kentucky State Police and local law enforcement officials will gather in memory of the local officer as part of the company’s community outreach program called “Telmate Fallen Heroes.” As a recipient of the program, Telmate will donate an undisclosed amount to the Daniel Ellis Foundation Inc. Katie Ellis, Officer Ellis’ wife, said the fund has been established to help promote her husband’s message of doing good in the community. Katie will accept the award along with their 4-year-son Luke.

On November 6, 2015, Senior Patrol Officer Ellis died two days after being shot while attempting to apprehend an armed robbery suspect at an apartment in the 500 block of Ballard Drive. A male subject who answered the door denied that the robbery suspect was inside and gave officers consent to search the apartment. As Officer Ellis entered a back bedroom the suspect opened fire.

The 33-year-old served seven years with the Richmond Police Department but he was more than just a police officer. Ellis was a well-liked, admired member of the community who led his life through his actions as a police officer, and was in line for a promotion to detective.

“Daniel was definitely a family guy and his greatest joy was being with Luke,” said Katie. “Luke’s been to a lot of memorials so he knows the graveside is the stone just for Daddy. He realizes the memorial in Washington DC is for all police officers. Best of all Luke remembers good times that they shared together.”

Katie recalled that in the days following her husband’s death, it was the support of the local and law enforcement community that carried her through the tough days. She never realized the brotherhood that existed until thousands of police officers across the country showed up for Daniel’s funeral.

“He had a reputation for helping people and being a good person,” said Katie, “which is where the inspiration for the foundation came from. Our mission is to continue to do good in the community the way Daniel would have.” According to Katie, the funds from the foundation have been able to help pretty much anybody in the community, whether it’s losing a spouse, a child, incurring medical expenses, experiencing a fire, and more. “It’s really helped the healing for me to be able to continue to be positive.”

It takes a special person to become a police officer and Katie believes her husband met all the characteristics of being a hero. “I want people to know he was the best officer, husband, father, and person he could ever have been.”

The Telmate Fallen Heroes Program is one  of the company’s community outreach programs. Every month, nominees are presented to a committee and one individual or organization is selected to receive a scholarship/donation to support families of fallen officers or organizations selected by those families.

For more information about Telmate’s Fallen Heroes program visit telmate.com/fallen-heroes.

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About Telmate:

Telmate is a leading provider of secure corrections and community corrections solutions including phone, tablet, visitation, messaging, education and entertainment content, corrections applications, investigator tools and GPS monitoring. Telmate’s cutting-edge platforms are deployed in over 300 correctional facilities in the U.S. and Canada. Telmate is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with employee presence nationwide. To find out more about Telmate, visit www.telmate.com.