Cheyenne Police Reflect on 150 Years, Honor First Fallen Officer [VIDEO]

In commemoration of Cheyenne's 150th Anniversary, police honored the first officer lost in the line of duty during a ceremony Wednesday morning.

The department dedicated a portrait of Officer Charles Henry Edwards Jr. and his son that was painted by local artist Dane Frankhouser.

"It was something I was asked to do, but it wasn't something that I did explicitly as a job," said Frankenhouser. "To actually bring it to completion took about a period of eight hours."

"Officer Edwards exemplifies the heroism, the professionalism of the Cheyenne Police Department that we've experienced over the last 150 years," said Chief Brian Kozak.
"We're very honored to accept this painting from Dane."

Edwards died on January 23, 1907, after succumbing to a stab wound he suffered while trying to arrest a man involved in a saloon fight.

"At the hospital he was advised that he was not going to recover from the injury, that he was going to die," said Chief Brian Kozak. "So he marries a woman on his death bed so that his son can have a mother."

"His very last words were that he was glad that he was able to do his duty and capture his man," Kozak added.