Note: Please be advised that this news article contains details of a violent crime. Reader discretion is strongly advised.
West Virginia is moυrning the untimely deἀths of two law enforcement officers. A state police sergeant was shΘt and kἰlled by a suspect in the state’s southern region, and the next day, a Morgantown police officer, Uniontown native, and Laurel Highlands graduate named Zane Breakiron was kἰlled in a car crἀsh.
Barry Frey of Smithfield, Pennsylvania is still moυrning his close friend Zane Breakiron. Frey said –
“You can almost see him laughing, or you know, you can almost hear him on the phone.”
“It’s hard.”
The 34-year-old was about to complete seven years as a patrol officer and K9 handler for the Morgantown Police Department in West Virginia. However, police say Breakiron perἰshed in a crἀsh sometime late Friday night (2 June 2023) or early Saturday morning (3 June 2023) while off-duty.
Do you know that the Honorable Anne Dahlene Lamkin Durward pἀssed away in her residence on May 27, 2023? She was born on February 1, 1969, in Mountain Brook to Dr. Thomas G. Lamkin and Mrs. Anne Lamkin:
According to sources, the incident occurred while he was traveling north on Route 43, between the Cheat Lake exit and the Pennsylvania state line.
Frey said –
“I couldn’t even believe it at first. I thought that maybe I would find out that it was just a mistake, that somebody made a mistake.”
Dr. Garret Breakiron, the officer’s father and a candidate for South Union Township commissioner in Pennsylvania and former chairman of the Fayette County Reagan Republicans, issued the following statement –
“Zane was the type of son who made his mother and father proud. Everyone in our community loved and respected him. We know that Zane now has a place in heaven.”
Frey stated that the Breakirons are near.
“Zane had a tremendous relationship with both his mother and his father. He really looked up to his dad a lot.”
He believes that the values instilled in him by his parents inspired him to join the police force.
“I think they just had those values, that public service was important to them, and I think he was just naturally drawn to that.”
Barry stated that Breakiron had recently been admitted as a U.S. Marshal.
Frey said –
“I know his parents are very proud.”
“It’s unfortunate that he won’t be able to do that now.”
Breakiron enjoyed hunting and boating outside of work, and he treated everyone he met with courtesy. His loyalty set him apart from others.
“He was an exceptional person. He touched, he really touched lives.”
Now Frey has stated that his loved ones will attempt to keep his legacy alive by living as Breakiron did.
“He was very humble, and I would just say that I think everybody should be more like that.”
The Monongalia County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an investigation in West Virginia. There is no indication on when the procession will occur.