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Law enforcement community comes together following shooting death of Deputy

By CAROLINE GABLE

Story Created: Jun 7, 2011 at 5:46 PM EDT

Story Updated: Jun 8, 2011 at 12:34 AM EDT

UTICA and NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. (WKTV) - Both the Utica Police Department and the New Hartford Police Department are lending support to the Oneida County Sheriff's Department. They know all too well what it is like to lose an officer, after the death of Officer Thomas Lindsey and Officer Joseph Corr.

The local police community is now bonding together following the early morning death of Oneida County Sheriff's Deputy Kurt Wyman.

The fatal shooting of Deputy Wyman hits close to home for Sgt. Steve Hauck of the Utica Police Department. Four years ago, the loss the of an officer was one of his own.

"Personally, it does bring you back to April 2007, when Tom was killed and you can't help but think about it," Sgt. Hauck said. "It gets to you, it bothers you."

Hauck adds that while a day does not go by that he does not think about the April 2007 shooting, he also doesn't allow Officer Lindsey's death to make him afraid or timid.

The New Hartford Police Department is also all too familiar with the pain of an officer making the ultimate sacrifice to protect the public.

Five years ago, Officer Joseph Corr was shot and killed in the line of duty while chasing a robbery suspect through Kirkland.

"It's a tragic event, but a handshake and a hug go a long way in times like these," said New Hartford Police Chief Michael Inserra.

In this situation, there are no healing words and no answers that can explain why this happened to Deputy Kurt Wyman. Across the country, the number officers killed by gunfire is on the rise, but three local officers killed on the job in the past five years is three too many.

The Regional Police Academy brings officers from several different departments together, and just as officers have assisted each other in classes and on the street, they now offer a different kind of support.

"Anything that they need from us," Sgt. Hauck offered to his law enforcement brethren. "When Tom was killed, they (Oneida County Sheriff's Department) worked alongside us to help us through the real though times, and we are there to do the same."

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