CLARK COUNTY — A national nonprofit organization created to support fallen officers, military service members and first responders is doing what it can for the family of Clark County Sheriff’s Deputy Matthew Yates, who was slain Sunday when he came under fire while responding to a call reporting shots of gunfire at Harmony Estates Mobile Home Park.
Arthur Solomon, who told News Center 7′s Brandon Lewis that his wife worked with Yates for a few years, said he felt compelled to stop and view the memorial for the 15-year veteran -- a sheriff’s cruiser on the plaza outside Springfield’s City Hall now overwhelmed with bouquets of flowers.
>> RELATED: Clark County sheriff confirms Deputy Matthew Yates shot, killed in line of duty
“He impacted so many kids and families,” Solomon said. “It hurts we got to be here today.”
Support for Yates and the people he leaves behind is coming not only from local people, but also from national organizations such as Luke’s Wings.
The nonprofit headquartered in Washington, D.C., is paying for two of Yates’s out-of-state family members to fly to Ohio for the funeral.
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“Being together, being with someone that’s been injured or being able to be together in a time of grief is absolutely invaluable,” said Shannon Killian, the organization’s director of family communications and logistics.
When Luke’s Wings was founded in 2008, she said, the organization helped pay for travel plans for family and friends of injured military service members and veterans.
“In the past couple of years, we acknowledge that there is a significant and unfortunately an increase in demand across our law enforcement and first responders who are often being killed or injured in the line of duty,” Killian said.
>> RELATED: See video of procession for Deputy Matthew Yates
According to the Officer Down Memorial Page online, there is a 9 percent increase in officers who have been shot to death as compared to this time a year ago.
“It’s an increased in demand, as unfortunate as it is to say that, and we feel compelled to serve some of the most selfless servants that we have in our nation,” Killian said.
If you would like to help Luke’s Wings continue the service it offers, you can check out lukeswings.org.