February 12, 2025

Iowa C.O.P.S. presents flag to families of police officers killed in line of duty

By Special to
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Iowa DCI Special Agent Mark Ludwick participated in the Iowa Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) RAGBRAI ride to honor fallen police officers. Ludwick rode in honor of Prairie City Police Officer Danny Hewitt and is pictured with Steve Hewitt, brother to Officer Hewitt; Donita Breckenridge, sister of Officer Hewitt; and Danny Hewitt, son of Officer Hewitt; along with other extended family members during a presentation for survivors at the Iowa State Fair. (Submitted Photo)

The Iowa Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) had a team of 16 bicyclists on RAGBRAI, with each cyclist honoring police officer who had been killed in the line of duty, including Prairie City Police Officer Donald E. Hewitt.

Each cyclist wore a custom bike jersey and flew a flag with the name and photograph of a police officer who had been killed in the line of duty. The cyclist met with several survivors of the officer he or she represented along the route and learned personal stories of the fallen officers directly from family members. Officers honored on the ride ranged from Sheriff Leland Fry, who was killed Nov. 5, 1938, to the most recent Iowa police officer killed in the line of duty: Trooper Mark Toney on Sept. 20, 2011.

Hewitt, who was killed on Dec. 3, 1977, was honored by Iowa DCI Special Agent Mark Ludwick. Ludwick flew Hewitt’s flag (Photo attached) on his bike throughout the week of RAGBRAI

Ludwick presented the flag to Officer Hewitt’s adult son, Danny Hewitt during a presentation at the Iowa State Fair. Ludwick and Danny Hewitt attended elementary school together at Lynnville-Sully Elementary School during the fourth grade.

“It doesn’t matter that your father was killed over 30 years ago. As a brother in law enforcement, he is not forgotten by us," Ludwick told Hewitt while meeting him in Cedar Rapids. “Police officers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice are not forgotten, and we learn from his death, which makes us better cops today.”

Donita Breckenridge of Prairie City, sister to Officer Hewitt, met the Iowa C.O.P.S. Team in Marshalltown.

Iowa C.O.P.S. is a local chapter of the National Concerns of Police Survivors. Visit www.IowaCOPS.Org for more information.