RADCLIFF, KY – JANUARY 12, 2016 – The ceremony to honor fallen Kentucky State Police Trooper Cameron Ponder is set for Tuesday, January 12. The event will take place during a halftime ceremony, of the boy’s basketball game at North Hardin High School, where Ponder graduated in 2002.
Telmate representatives, Kentucky State Police and local law enforcement agencies will gather in memory of the local trooper as part of the company’s program called “Telmate Fallen Heroes. ”Telmate will donate an undisclosed amount to the Trooper Cameron Ponder Memorial Fund. Brenda Tiffany, Ponder’s mother said that the fund that has been established at The Cecilian Bank in Hardin County will help to “carry on Cameron’s singular passion for helping others.”
On September 13, 2015, Ponder was fatally shot after a high speed pursuit with a man who committed a traffic violation and attempted to flee the scene. During the chase the man abruptly stopped his vehicle, causing Ponder’s patrol car to crash into it. The suspect leaned out his vehicle and fired several shots into Ponder’s police cruiser, hitting him several times. Ponder was taken to a hospital, but died.
Trooper Ponder was a thirty-one-year-old U.S. Navy Veteran who had graduated from Kentucky State Police Department (KSP) training academy last January. He served his community and KSP for just nine months before being fatefully struck down. “Cameron’s desire in life was to affect change and to defend the weak and help those in need,” recalled his mother. “He truly felt the Kentucky State Police Department gave him the biggest venue to affect that change.” She explained that being a hero means: “Putting all others above oneself and sacrificing their own life for someone else’s without reservation.”
The Telmate Fallen Heroes program is part of the company’s community outreach program called Telmate Cares. 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.