ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- The Odessa Police Department honored a fallen hero this morning with a sunrise service and wreath laying. Officer Scott Stanton Smith died 35 years ago today. 

On August 3, 1987, 25-year-old Officer Smith, who had been with the department for three years, was involved in a motorcycle crash while responding to a burglary call. He spent six months on life support before dying in 1988.

Two days after the crash, Smith’s wife found out she was pregnant with the couple’s second child. 

Kelsey, Smith’s daughter who was born not long after his death, left a note for her father on an online page used to honor fallen heroes.  Part of it reads, “Dad, a name I never got to call you in person, I grew up not knowing you, hearing your voice, or seeing your face, but you were never forgotten.  While we were never given the chance to know each other, I do my very best to carry on your legacy and make you proud.”

The wreath will remain at OPD’s memorial Statue until sundown, when the Honor Guard will return to take it down. Anyone wishing to visit the memorial and pay their respects is invited to do so.