NORTH VERNON, Ind. – Friday, March 24, marks the 30th anniversary of the death of two NVPD officers who gave the ultimate sacrifice while in the line of duty.
Reserve officer Lonnie Howard and officer Anthony Burton with the North Vernon Police Department (NVPD) were killed on March 24, 1993, when their patrol car was crashed into while parked in the Lord of Life Lutheran Church parking lot. The 30-year-old suspect, who was free on bond following an earlier standoff with police, was driving a stolen vehicle stolen. He was apprehended but committed suicide while in custody on May 13, 1993.
This incident was one of 24 which resulted in the line-of-duty deaths of two officers, according to the Indiana Law Enforcement Memorial.
Burton, 29, was survived by his expectant wife, mother, father, sister, and four brothers. Howard, 22, was survived by his mother, father, brother, and fiancée.
In 2018, a section of U.S. 50, from County Road 150N to the Muscatatuck River, was named the officer Burton and reserve officer Howard Memorial Highway in their honor.