Standing Vigil

Luminaries lined the sidewalk and driveway leading to the home of slain Plymouth Township police officer Bradley Fox on Friday night.

A neighbor organized the vigil, which was attended by police departments from all over Montgomery County as well as hundreds of neighbors and friends.

Plymouth Township police arrived in force on motorcycles and in cars, and stood at attention in the Foxes' driveway, surrounding Fox's widow Lynsay and their young daughter while department Chaplain Rev. Nicholas Salios spoke and prayed.

Silence blanketed the street while Salios spoke, but sobbing could be heard as he finished.

Friday, September 14 would have been Fox's 35th birthday.

Members of the Philadelphia Police K9 training unit were also on hand and were escorted into the house to see Fox's family.

I had the privilege of meeting Officer Fox last February when I wrote about the K9 training unit  for one of their training nights. 

Fox, who lived in Gilbertsville, and his partner Nick were one of the first units to arrive at the school along with Limerick Township and his partner, Flynn. I spoke to him for about an hour while we waited for the rest of the class to arrive.

Fox joked then about finally getting to train closer to his home instead of driving to Philadelphia. 

I got to see Fox and Nick work on obedience training and explosives detection during that class. It struck me then how focused they were and how well they worked together.

I spoke to both McGuigan and Fox's training officer, Jane DiPasquale, after the vigil was over.

They both talked about how much Fox loved his job, but they also both spoke about how much Fox loved his family.

Plymouth Township police chief Joseph Lawrence told me that Fox was a "great [K9] handler, a great officer."

"It's a loss for everyone here," Lawrence said.