Investigator Brandon Thacker was killed in the line of duty in 1998

Contact:  Nathan Jones, 502-564-4850

FRANKFORT, Ky. (May 16, 2007) – The Office of Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) is honoring one of their own who was killed in the line of duty in 1998.  ABC Investigator Brandon H. Thacker was a four-year veteran of ABC and was 27 years old.  He left behind a wife and a baby daughter.

May 13-19 is Law Enforcement Memorial Week and ABC calls upon the public to remember the service these men and women give on a daily basis to make our communities safe.

On April 16, 1998, Thacker and three other ABC investigators were traveling eastbound on the Western Kentucky Parkway in separate unmarked state vehicles.  They were approximately nine miles west of Princeton, en route to Henderson to work an enforcement detail. 

Thacker made a radio transmission to the other investigators regarding an erratic driver and indicated his intention to pull the car over.  The driver of the other vehicle pulled along side Thacker’s car in the passing lane and fired three shots from a .44 caliber magnum revolver, all of which struck Thacker’s vehicle.  One round penetrated the driver’s door and struck Thacker in the upper left chest.  Thacker managed to pull his vehicle onto the shoulder and died at the scene.

“Investigator Thacker exemplified the very best in helping achieve enforcement through cooperation of state and local law enforcement agencies,” said Randy Fawns, assistant director of enforcement for ABC.  “His friendship, professionalism and commitment to his job are attributes that will be long remembered.”

“Investigators at the Office of Alcoholic Beverage Control face not only uncertainty, but real danger every day they go to work,” said Chris Lilly, executive director of ABC.  “Investigator Thacker’s picture hangs in our front entrance as a somber reminder of the risks these dedicated ABC officers take while serving the commonwealth.   We at ABC join with our fellow law enforcement officers in honoring law enforcement officers who gave their all for us.”

This week, ABC honors all law enforcement personnel that have given the ultimate sacrifice and also those who go out every day to make our commonwealth a safe place to live.  If you would like to find out more about the National Law Enforcement Memorial Week, please visit www.klemf.org.

ABC is an agency of the Department of Public Protection in the Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet.  The mission of ABC is to protect the public welfare and interest by regulating the alcoholic beverage industry in the commonwealth through licensing, education and enforcement of pertinent laws and regulations.