30 years later, St. Paul police name station after fallen officer

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Thirty years ago, this Monday, St. Paul lived through one of its darkest days. A man shot and killed two police officers, Ron Ryan, Jr., and Tim Jones, and a K9 partner.

The manhunt lasted for hours before officers took the man into custody.

St. Paul is marking the anniversary with a special tribute. The families have had a lot of time to heal since Aug. 26, 1994, but the wounds will never go away.

"You walk in the door, and you see him all up, all up and full of life and 3D, 4D big," said Ryan's widow, Ann Kluender. "It's hard, too hard not to get emotional."

Ryan followed in his father’s law enforcement footsteps, so Ryan's job was a point of pride for Ron, Sr.

"It was very special to watch Big Ron pin Ronnie's badge," said Maria Ryan Hanggi. "It was my father's honor, and he was extremely proud."

A seemingly mundane task turned a dad’s delight into distress.

Ryan went to check on a sleeping man in a church parking lot and the man shot him.

The same suspect killed off-duty officer Jones and his K9 partner, Laser, when they tracked him to a neighborhood not far away.

The city’s K9 training facility is now named in honor of Jones. The street where Ryan was killed bears his name.

But it's days like this that let their families know they’re never in it alone and the officers’ sacrifice will always be remembered.

On Monday, St. Paul officially named the Eastern District police station after Ryan.

"A reflection on careers well served," said St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, whose father was a St. Paul police officer and part of the manhunt in 1994. "But they're also a reminder to us that the safety that we hold dear just cannot be taken for granted. That the community that we cherish comes at a cost."

Ryan’s family found out after his death about the mornings he spent chatting with elderly ladies and the birthday cake he delivered to cheer up a lonely kid.

He loved his community and 30 years after his death, it’s still loving him back.

"Ronnie would think this is great, wouldn't he?" Hanggi said. "He'd be like 'a building with my name and photos and images all over it.' He would completely eat this up."

Fifteen human officers with the St. Paul Police Department have been shot and killed in the line of duty, but only one since the tragedy in 1994.

Most of them were killed in the first half of the 20th century.

The man who killed Ryan, Jones, and Laser is serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole.