First-responders honor Officer Daniel Ellis at Turkey Bowl

RICHMOND, Ky. (WTVQ)-A year ago today Richmond Police Officer Daniel Ellis died in the hospital two days after he was shot in the head by a suspect during a robbery investigation. His tragic death rocked the city of Richmond last year, but his memory still lives on today. This afternoon his friends, family, and first responders are celebrating his life with a friendly game of flag football in his honor.

Cops faced off against firefighters as part of the 6th annual Turkey Bowl. The game got off to an emotional start. Firefighters and police officers walked onto the field side by side holding up a banner with officer Ellis’s badge number 457 on it. Ellis’s cousin Rebeca took center stage singing “Officer Down” the beautiful song her sister Hannah wrote in Officer Ellis’s honor. At the 50 yard line the teams huddled for a moment of prayer before kickoff. First-responders say although these last few days have been painful, they’ve grown stronger as a community healing from this tragedy together.

Richmond Police Officer Zachary Stokes says, “You know, we’ve really come together. I mean the support that we have…you still see 457 signs all over the city, even a year from last November. So I think that it’s very apparent that the city and the community supports us and we really appreciate that.”

Officer Ellis’s four-year old son Luke did the coin flip and brought out the game ball before kick-off.