Salina Community Center renamed after two officers killed in line of duty in April

The town of Salina has renamed its community center, honoring the two officers killed in the line of duty in mid-April.

On Monday, Salina Supervisor Nick Paro was joined by the families of Onondaga County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Michael Hoosock and Syracuse Police Department Officer Michael Jensen to unveil the Hoosock-Jensen Salina Community Center.

“Like many in our community, I remember the night of April 14 vividly,” the supervisor wrote in a statement. “It was a night that struck terror in the hearts of a neighborhood and forever changed the trajectory of the Hoosock and Jensen families. That night, we saw what true heroism looked like.“

Traffic stop turned shootout took the lives of officers Jensen and Hoosock

On April 14, what began as a routine traffic stop turned into a shootout that led to the deaths of Jensen, a Rome native, and Hoosock outside a suburban home in the town of Salina. Christopher Murphy, the shooter, was also killed.

Murphy had no criminal history, besides an arrest 10 years ago on a drunken-driving charge.

Nearly a week after Jensen was fatally shot in the line of duty, friends, family and colleagues gathered to remember him at his funeral on Saturday, April 20 at St. John the Baptist Church in Rome.

The funeral , like the calling hours the night before, drew large crowds of law enforcement officers mourning a life cut short.

'They made the ultimate sacrifice'

Paro said the pain felt by the families will never truly wane, but neither would the gratitude of the residents of Salina.

“They made the ultimate sacrifice and laid down their lives for residents of a community whom they very well may never have met,” Paro said. “Nothing could ever bring back the lives of these men, but it is my honor as Town Supervisor in Salina to commemorate their heroism and honor their sacrifice with the dedication of our new Community Center. This building will carry the names of our heroes for decades to come, and generations will learn about Lt. Hoosock and Officer Jensen.’”

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Salina Community Center renamed after two officers killed in line of duty in April