Hundreds gather in Phoenix to pay respects to fallen Arizona DPS trooper

PHOENIX — Hundreds of people gathered in Phoenix on Monday night to pay their respects to a fallen Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper who was killed while on duty last week.

Battling high-speed winds, the well-wishers, including Gov. Doug Ducey and Col. Frank Milstead, held their phones in the air at the Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza to simulate the flame from a candle as silence filled the air in honor of Tyler Edenhofer.

A somber but large crowd in Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza in honor of @Arizona_DPS Trooper Tyler Edenhofer. .@KTAR923 pic.twitter.com/yOVsQeBf1p

— Ali Vetnar (@Ali_Vetnar) July 31, 2018

Edenhofer was shot and killed on July 25 while responding to a call of a man walking alongside the Interstate 10 in Avondale.

The suspect, later identified as 20-year-old Isaac King, was reportedly fighting with multiple responding troopers, including Edenhofer, when he allegedly got hold of one of the trooper’s weapons and fired two shots. One of the shots killed Edenhofer, while the other injured trooper Dalin Dorris.

King was charged with multiple counts, including first-degree murder, on Sunday.

Milstead was one of the few people who spoke during the vigil on Monday. He asked the public to keep supporting the department because “at the end of the day, we are powerless without the support of you, our community.”

“Law enforcement has come under the gun and people want to second guess,” Milstead said.

“I don’t want anyone to forget that an unarmed man became armed and shot one of my troopers and killed another. What I don’t want from this profession is for us to become reactionary,” he added.

“As uncomfortable as it is to hear, it’s true: We train law enforcement to win. We train the men and women of this profession to win because the consequences are dire.”

Ducey also spoke during the vigil, praising Edenhofer for serving his country and his community.

Edenhofer will be laid to rest at the Christ’s Church of the Valley in Peoria at 10 a.m. on Friday.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Ali Vetnar contributed to this report. 

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