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WAYZATA, Minn. (KMSP) - It was a somber scene at the James J. Hill Day parade in Wayzata, Minn. Sunday, as officers walked in silence just two days after their colleague died while clearing debris from a local roadway.
William Mathews was struck and killed by a motorist on Highway 12 Friday afternoon, rocking a small town that knew him as a pillar of a community that only employs 12 officers--now 11.
"It's a small area, it's a small community and we're tight," Wayzata resident Tami Anderson said. "For something to happen this close by, it actually brought us all together I think."
54-year-old Beth Freeman was driving with a revoked license at the time of the fatal incident, and is currently in custody.
A local hardware store gave out blue-tinted bulbs as a way to remember Mathews, with front porches across town glowing all weekend in mourning.
Officer Mathews leaves behind a wife and young son.