Officer Memorial

Officer Paul Walters

On the evening of January 19, 1975, Officer Paul Walters was dispatched to the 6600 block of the Carlisle Pike for a report of several teenage boys throwing snowballs at northbound traffic. The weather was poor that night; heavy snow was falling and road conditions were far from ideal.

Officer Walters and his partner proceeded immediately to the scene in a marked police car. Officer Walters was dropped off near where the subjects were reported to have been seen so that he could approach them on foot. The second officer double-backed in the patrol car so that he could approach them from the opposite direction.

Officer Walters was able to catch the boys in the act and he placed them under arrest. He then attempted to walk the boys back to where the patrol car was parked. Unfortunately, the heavy snow made for treacherous conditions on the Carlisle Pike; the falling snow lowered driver visibility and the plowed snow banks provided barely enough room for vehicles to pass through the two traffic lanes.

In an effort to protect the boys in his custody Officer Walters walked behind them, on the edge of the left lane, and used his flashlight to wave approaching vehicles into the right lane and away from the teens. One of the vehicles approaching in the left lane was a large truck whose driver saw Officer Walters’ directions and was able to make a lane change in time to avoid the officer.

However, unbeknownst to the truck driver and Officer Walters, a sedan was following closely behind the truck. This vehicle’s driver did not see Officer Walters until the truck changed lanes; too late to avoid a collision. Officer Walters was struck. Though he was rushed to the emergency room, he succumbed to his injuries.

Officer Paul Walters was posthumously promoted to Corporal. He was survived by three children, his parents, and a sister. He was a veteran of the United States Air Force and served the citizens of Silver Spring Township and Cumberland County honorably from February 25, 1972 to January 19, 1975. Corporal Walters remains the only Silver Spring Township Police Officer to be killed in the line of duty.

Cumberland County Police Memorial

Please visit Officer Down Memorial to honor fallen law enforcement. The Silver Spring Township Police Department wishes to honor the following law enforcement officers who fell in the line of duty while serving the citizens of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania:

• Patrolman Willis John Cole
  New Cumberland Police Department
  End of Watch: August 19, 1994
• Patrolman Richard Stanley Phelps
  Lemoyne Borough Police Department
  End of Watch: July 11, 1989
• Corporal Paul James Walters
  Silver Spring Township Police Department
  End of Watch: January 19, 1975
• Patrolman Harry F. Hartman, Jr.
  East Pennsboro Township Police Department
  End of Watch: December 21, 1970
• Special Agent Terry R. Anders
  Federal Bureau of Investigation
  End of Watch: May 17, 1966
• Private Charles S. Stanski
  Pennsylvania State Police
  End of Watch: January 23, 1958
• Police Officer Homer Reed Gilbert
  Mechanicsburg Borough Police Department
  End of Watch: January 26, 1943
• Private Dean N. Zeigler
  Pennsylvania Motor Police, PA
  End of Watch: October 17, 1942
• Chief of Police James Albert Welsh
  New Cumberland Police Department
  End of Watch: February 23, 1928
• Patrol Officer M. Roy Hamlin
  Camp Hill Police Department
  End of Watch: May 23, 1925
• Patrolman George Martin
  Carlisle Police Department
  End of Watch: April 8, 1893