Police officer. He had been with the Berlin Police Department for only six months when he was struck and thrown 60 feet by a drunk driver while directing traffic at an automobile accident on Route 5. He died from his injuries later that night at Yale-New Haven Hospital. The suspect was sentenced to 16 months in jail but was killed in a motorcycle accident the weekend before he was to begin his sentence. Officer Casner's brother was also a Berlin police officer at the time and was on duty the night his brother was killed. Officer Casner was a supernumery officer from April 1982 until he was promoted in August 1984. A 1981 graduate of Berlin High School and a former Connecticut Department of Corrections officer, he also was an EMT with the Kensington Volunteer Fire Department Ambulance Division. In 2005, the segment of Route 71 from the Routes 71A and 71 intersection northerly to Main Street in Berlin was designated the "Officer Jeffrey G. Casner Memorial Highway".∼Hartford Courant May 20, 2015 - Berlin Police Officer Jeffrey Casner, who was 22 when a drunk driver killed him 30 years ago, was remembered Wednesday at the Maple Cemetery gravesite as the only town officer lost in the line of duty.
About 50 relatives and former and current police officers gathered to honor Casner's memory. He'd been on the force for just four years the night of Feb. 2, 1985, when he was fatally injured during a traffic stop. The driver who killed him was arrested but died in an accident before trial.
Many of the officers at the gravesite did not know Casner, but that made no difference.
"It's important to remember him," said Chief Paul Fitzgerald, who was a state trooper when Casner was killed. The department has a ceremony to honor Casner every year.
"It means a lot to us that people do this," said Gloria Casner, Jeffrey Casner's mother, as she sat in a police station conference room for a post-ceremony reception. She'd baked cookies for the event.
She said it's not upsetting to her now to walk past photographs of her son displayed in the lobby. She said she has many pictures of him in her home.
At first, the department had its annual graveside ceremony on Feb. 2, the date Casner was killed. But the weather eventually caused the department to move the event to May.
"I used to come up here with my snowblower the weekend before to clear a spot for people to stand," said William Casner, Jeffrey's younger brother. William Casner was a Berlin officer and was on duty the night his brother died.
He retired a year after the death because "it was too hard to stay." He said it's not easy to visit his brother's grave, but that it's become less so over the years.
On Wednesday, students from McGee Middle School placed a wreath at Casner's gravesite in the Worthington Ridge Cemetery about a mile from their school.
Only two of the 42 officers on the force were working when Casner was killed by Alton Hepp, 25, of Meriden. Hepp, who police said veered into Casner, who'd gotten out of his cruiser, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle, making an unsafe lane change and driving at an unreasonable speed.
Hepp was killed in a motorcycle accident on the Litchfield Turnpike eight months later.
Robert Peters, a retired Berlin police sergeant who went to the accident scene in 1985, was at the ceremony. He said there were at least a dozen retired officers at the cemetery.
"It seems like yesterday," Peters said. "What a loss."
About 50 relatives and former and current police officers gathered to honor Casner's memory. He'd been on the force for just four years the night of Feb. 2, 1985, when he was fatally injured during a traffic stop. The driver who killed him was arrested but died in an accident before trial.
Many of the officers at the gravesite did not know Casner, but that made no difference.
"It's important to remember him," said Chief Paul Fitzgerald, who was a state trooper when Casner was killed. The department has a ceremony to honor Casner every year.
"It means a lot to us that people do this," said Gloria Casner, Jeffrey Casner's mother, as she sat in a police station conference room for a post-ceremony reception. She'd baked cookies for the event.
She said it's not upsetting to her now to walk past photographs of her son displayed in the lobby. She said she has many pictures of him in her home.
At first, the department had its annual graveside ceremony on Feb. 2, the date Casner was killed. But the weather eventually caused the department to move the event to May.
"I used to come up here with my snowblower the weekend before to clear a spot for people to stand," said William Casner, Jeffrey's younger brother. William Casner was a Berlin officer and was on duty the night his brother died.
He retired a year after the death because "it was too hard to stay." He said it's not easy to visit his brother's grave, but that it's become less so over the years.
On Wednesday, students from McGee Middle School placed a wreath at Casner's gravesite in the Worthington Ridge Cemetery about a mile from their school.
Only two of the 42 officers on the force were working when Casner was killed by Alton Hepp, 25, of Meriden. Hepp, who police said veered into Casner, who'd gotten out of his cruiser, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle, making an unsafe lane change and driving at an unreasonable speed.
Hepp was killed in a motorcycle accident on the Litchfield Turnpike eight months later.
Robert Peters, a retired Berlin police sergeant who went to the accident scene in 1985, was at the ceremony. He said there were at least a dozen retired officers at the cemetery.
"It seems like yesterday," Peters said. "What a loss."
Police officer. He had been with the Berlin Police Department for only six months when he was struck and thrown 60 feet by a drunk driver while directing traffic at an automobile accident on Route 5. He died from his injuries later that night at Yale-New Haven Hospital. The suspect was sentenced to 16 months in jail but was killed in a motorcycle accident the weekend before he was to begin his sentence. Officer Casner's brother was also a Berlin police officer at the time and was on duty the night his brother was killed. Officer Casner was a supernumery officer from April 1982 until he was promoted in August 1984. A 1981 graduate of Berlin High School and a former Connecticut Department of Corrections officer, he also was an EMT with the Kensington Volunteer Fire Department Ambulance Division. In 2005, the segment of Route 71 from the Routes 71A and 71 intersection northerly to Main Street in Berlin was designated the "Officer Jeffrey G. Casner Memorial Highway".∼Hartford Courant May 20, 2015 - Berlin Police Officer Jeffrey Casner, who was 22 when a drunk driver killed him 30 years ago, was remembered Wednesday at the Maple Cemetery gravesite as the only town officer lost in the line of duty.
About 50 relatives and former and current police officers gathered to honor Casner's memory. He'd been on the force for just four years the night of Feb. 2, 1985, when he was fatally injured during a traffic stop. The driver who killed him was arrested but died in an accident before trial.
Many of the officers at the gravesite did not know Casner, but that made no difference.
"It's important to remember him," said Chief Paul Fitzgerald, who was a state trooper when Casner was killed. The department has a ceremony to honor Casner every year.
"It means a lot to us that people do this," said Gloria Casner, Jeffrey Casner's mother, as she sat in a police station conference room for a post-ceremony reception. She'd baked cookies for the event.
She said it's not upsetting to her now to walk past photographs of her son displayed in the lobby. She said she has many pictures of him in her home.
At first, the department had its annual graveside ceremony on Feb. 2, the date Casner was killed. But the weather eventually caused the department to move the event to May.
"I used to come up here with my snowblower the weekend before to clear a spot for people to stand," said William Casner, Jeffrey's younger brother. William Casner was a Berlin officer and was on duty the night his brother died.
He retired a year after the death because "it was too hard to stay." He said it's not easy to visit his brother's grave, but that it's become less so over the years.
On Wednesday, students from McGee Middle School placed a wreath at Casner's gravesite in the Worthington Ridge Cemetery about a mile from their school.
Only two of the 42 officers on the force were working when Casner was killed by Alton Hepp, 25, of Meriden. Hepp, who police said veered into Casner, who'd gotten out of his cruiser, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle, making an unsafe lane change and driving at an unreasonable speed.
Hepp was killed in a motorcycle accident on the Litchfield Turnpike eight months later.
Robert Peters, a retired Berlin police sergeant who went to the accident scene in 1985, was at the ceremony. He said there were at least a dozen retired officers at the cemetery.
"It seems like yesterday," Peters said. "What a loss."
About 50 relatives and former and current police officers gathered to honor Casner's memory. He'd been on the force for just four years the night of Feb. 2, 1985, when he was fatally injured during a traffic stop. The driver who killed him was arrested but died in an accident before trial.
Many of the officers at the gravesite did not know Casner, but that made no difference.
"It's important to remember him," said Chief Paul Fitzgerald, who was a state trooper when Casner was killed. The department has a ceremony to honor Casner every year.
"It means a lot to us that people do this," said Gloria Casner, Jeffrey Casner's mother, as she sat in a police station conference room for a post-ceremony reception. She'd baked cookies for the event.
She said it's not upsetting to her now to walk past photographs of her son displayed in the lobby. She said she has many pictures of him in her home.
At first, the department had its annual graveside ceremony on Feb. 2, the date Casner was killed. But the weather eventually caused the department to move the event to May.
"I used to come up here with my snowblower the weekend before to clear a spot for people to stand," said William Casner, Jeffrey's younger brother. William Casner was a Berlin officer and was on duty the night his brother died.
He retired a year after the death because "it was too hard to stay." He said it's not easy to visit his brother's grave, but that it's become less so over the years.
On Wednesday, students from McGee Middle School placed a wreath at Casner's gravesite in the Worthington Ridge Cemetery about a mile from their school.
Only two of the 42 officers on the force were working when Casner was killed by Alton Hepp, 25, of Meriden. Hepp, who police said veered into Casner, who'd gotten out of his cruiser, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle, making an unsafe lane change and driving at an unreasonable speed.
Hepp was killed in a motorcycle accident on the Litchfield Turnpike eight months later.
Robert Peters, a retired Berlin police sergeant who went to the accident scene in 1985, was at the ceremony. He said there were at least a dozen retired officers at the cemetery.
"It seems like yesterday," Peters said. "What a loss."
Inscription
To protect and serve...
Family Members
Parents
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
