Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

15 years... I still think about you everyday brother.

Till we meet again.

Little Brother

February 11, 2022

I remember when officer wissink patrolled the neighborhood my brother and sister I grew up in. It's hard to believe that it's been 13 years since your accident. Rip Officer Wissink.

Tonya Lafarr
Citizen Des Moines Iowa

March 23, 2020

13 years brother.......hard to believe you have been gone for 13 years. So much has changed. I still miss you man. Until we see each other again.

Lt. Keith Romo
Polk County Sheriff’s Office

February 11, 2020

Rip police officer Sean wissink you are not forgotten thank you for your service

James Morris Vistor to pay respects to fallen officers.

February 11, 2017

Rest in perpetual peace my hero. May God continue to bless your beautiful family who keep you alive in their thoughts.

Lieutenant Ray Flores (Ret.)
N.Y.P.D.

February 11, 2017

Today is my husband’s FOREVER 35th Birthday!
September 7th, 2006 was the last birthday he reached.
He was 35. Today he would have been 45.
I used to tease him that he was a cradle robber because he was 4 1/2 years my elder and when we started dating I was only 16, so that was a big deal (not sure what my mother was thinking, but thank god she wasn't).
Dear Sean,
As I’ve continued to age past you these last 10 years, I often think of the things you're missing out on when I reflect on how things have changed since the last birthday you were here to celebrate:
*There was no texting then. When it was discussed on the news for our future generations, you said that it would only be used by "children and cheaters." There were no iPhones or phones that didn’t act like walkie talkies and beep beep to each other……..pagers were only for pimps, doctors, and cops.
*There were no DVR's yet to record your favorite hunting shows while you had to work and I know you would have loved Duck Dynasty!
*No one we knew was on Facebook. I am fairly certain I can say you wouldn't have had one anyway. If you had it would have been total “black ops style” with a fake name and picture of someone with a gun. You would only stalk people, and rarely interact with them. Your friends list would have about 23 people on it, and they would all be cops or family.
*Gas prices were around $1.82 a gallon. Speaking of gas, we only had 2 cars. Both of our kids were in elementary school and neither of them were driving yet. It’s probably a good thing I had to teach them to drive, because your temper would have resulted in either a wrecked car with a fist through the windshield or a child who wanted to just ride the bus until they graduated.............. or both.
*Madison just started her second year of college and is working on getting her nursing degree. She’s as feisty as you wanted her to be, smart, and so beautiful inside and out. She is so different than you would have remembered her. She’s taken after you in so many ways; like wanting lots of alone time, sticking up for the underdog, and speaking her mind even when it goes against the grain. She's learned that the popular thing to do isn't always right, and the right thing to do isn't always popular.
*Hunter hadn't learned to shave yet or even tie his own tie yet when you died. He's now out of college and working at the jail like you used to. Yesterday we celebrated HIS sons birthday! He's a daddy now and has changed so much over the last two years it's even hard for me to believe. He's unbelievable with his son just like you were with yours. He's caring, thoughtful, protective and appears to have a hard exterior shell but actually has the softest heart towards he loves. I know in my heart there have been times you've been there for him when he needed to most. Keep that shit up please.
*Your parents have been amazing and are doing so well. We had dinner with them the other night and I think you would be surprised to see how cute they are together. As much as your death has challenged them and broken their hearts in two, I pray that it continues to bring them closer together. They are two of my favorite people in the whole wide world and I will forever be grateful that you brought them into my life.
*Your boys in blue (and tan) ........you would also be proud to know that they have been there for us through everything! I've had to call them more than once for help and they're always amazing to respond! Whether it's calling to check on one of the kids or I, or riding their bike across the state of Iowa on RAGBRAI in your memory, or most importantly showing us that "we will never forget" were not empty words that people say but don't mean. Over the past few years these officers have really been challenged in their jobs and I pray that you will continue to have their six and make sure they are able to go home every night to their families.
*As far as the changes in me go, there are far too many to list. I feel like I have taken on your personality at times. One of the things I am proudest of is that your lack of patience combined with your courage has given me the strength I needed to start an Iowa Chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS). I fight for COPS family members when they lose a Police Officer in the line of duty to ensure their voice is heard. I fight for their department to have the support they need to honor and grieve their officer. Your drive for training your boys to do things the right way in SWAT has led me to training police departments, statewide, on how to prepare for and respond to line of duty deaths. On your last birthday, in 2006, I was still working as a Preschool Director at Easter Seals where the audience I dealt with included ‘hate’ and ‘butt’ as the naughtiest words that were allowed to come out of my mouth. Unfortunately now, my vocabulary includes things that are not appropriate for many Navy ships but I will give you this............it gets shit done. COPS is a baby I've handed over to others but will always be a part of me in some way.
*Last, but certainly not least, our love story and the feelings I still have for you have fueled me in a strange way to create another chapter in my life that I know you would have wanted for me. Our love has proven that living one day without that feeling is something you can never get back, so I choose not to waste any days without it. I have fallen in love with someone who's been an amazing friend for 12 years. He will be there with me tonight and choke down the crown shot with all of us, he will console me when I miss you, and he will honor you by loving me as hard as he can even when I don't make it easy. He is a gift I will forever treasure because as my love with him grows, so does my love for you. Happy Forever 35th Birthday to my first love.
I will forever be grateful of the years I had with you.
I will always wish I had more.
I will never forget……………….SWAT.

M
Wife

September 8, 2016

As we mourn the loss of two DMPD officers today, thoughts of how quickly your wife will be there assisting two families during their time of need entered my mind. You'd be proud of her Sean. Her dedication is unwavering and strong.

I know you and Melissa will help the two families affected by this mornings accident. Show the officers the way of the land up there Sean. Melissa, show the grieving families down here the beautiful work COPS does.

You both are amazing.

Sister
To DMPD Officer

March 26, 2016

Hey brother,
Today was my final day with the teams, I held on as long as I could and carried you portable radio with me every day from the day that you were taken from us until today.
I look back and am so very thankful for the time that we had together....from the days of working the jail, to power shift, to finally seeing our dream come true of getting to work tactical together. A significant number of the best times of my life you were there....I still think about you often and miss the hell out of you.
I got the biggest kick out of seeing your grandson and name sake born....as I held him in the hospital I knew you were there too, the biggest grin on your face and that laugh.
Please keep watching out for our brothers and sisters still doing it.....
Until we meet on the other side, keep the Coke and Crown cold.

Lt. K. Romp
Polk County Sheriff's Office

March 25, 2015

I was inspired to write this after talking to someone at our C.O.P.S. Christmas party. She said seeing Tim and I together gives her hope. I wanted to share this with you. I wanted you to know we are happy even though we still miss you every day.

"BEING MARRIED TO A WIDOW IS NOT EASY"

Being married to a widow is a lot like raising children. It's hard. It's thankless. It's uncharted territory. The biggest difference is there is not a huge support system out there to give you advice on how to handle difficult situations, be there for you as back up, or to give you the thanks you so deserve.

Do I believe everything happens for a reason? No. It actually makes my skin crawl when people say this. It’s as though they are saying: maybe your husband died so that you could meet this new man and live happily ever after. Here’s the thing—and let me say this as carefully as possible—I was living happily ever after before. I loved Sean. We were going to spend the rest of our lives together, raise our children, and eventually sit on our rockers on the front porch, muttering about 'the kids these days.' Then he died—in a horrible, tragic, unlucky accident. I don’t believe it was for a reason or his time to go or any of those things.

From his death I have surmised that sometimes bad things just happen. For no reason. And there is nothing you can do about it. Just because something good eventually follows does not mean that one leads to the other. The line of thought that Sean's death was simply for the sake of my new relationship is a very dangerous line of thought—one that diminishes my Sean's life and our relationship—something I’d never be down with.

At a time in my life when I decided I was done looking for love again, and Mr. Right would have to "come knocking on my door," he literally did. I met a guy who at first was just a man who I thought looked like a sexy neighbor across the street when he got his mail after work every day in his sexy suit. Sean and Tim couldn't be more different and that’s one of the things I love about each of them. They are each unique and special to me in different ways and I cherish both relationships and everything they have brought to my life.

I wouldn't know how hard it is to be Tim, because I am on the widow end of this, but at the same time I recognize and appreciate his position more than he can ever know. You all may realize just a little, about how C.O.P.S. has become a part of my life after Sean's death. But Tim has seen how I love and breathe it. C.O.P.S. is my tie to Sean and how I can stay connected to him by helping the families of others who have joined his ranks. Tim sees how I drop everything when an officer goes down; my role as his wife is done for a week. He sees how I am on the phone sometimes for hours, missing dinner, just to talk with a survivor who is having a bad day; not only does he take it, he supports it.

Tim has heard me talk about Sean being my hero so many times at lectures I give, as well as to our children, and every time, he tells me he is so proud of me and the message I have or how he wishes he had known Sean. I am sure that must be hard for any man to hear from the woman he loves—that another man is her hero. That she loves him so much that she dedicates her life to his legacy. That she will never stop loving him. That she will always be in love with two men.

First, before he asked for my hand in marriage, not only did he ask my children but he asked Sean's parents for their blessing. Then he supported my decision not to leave the house Sean and I built with our own sweat, fights, and tears when it was time to move in together. Tim never made me feel bad. Instead he helped me make a house that Sean built, but only got to live in for 3 months, finally feel like a home. A home that I now want to decorate at Christmas, or just sit in and watch a fire burn in the fireplace we so love. He allows me to be maintain my independence from my years of having to do it all by myself, yet takes care of me because he knows how damned hard it is for me to ask for help.

I will never forget the sacrifice Tim has made to his own heart making room for a woman like me. To all of you ladies (or gentlemen) out there who have lost the love of your life, make sure you settle for nothing but this kind of person. He feels like home to me. He makes room in his heart and life for everyone and everything I love. He's not perfect, no one is, but he's perfect for me.

What Tim doesn't realize is that he has become my ultimate hero for letting me honor my first hero!

Mel, your forever sweetheart
Wife

December 16, 2013

Rest in Peace, Officer Wissink. Your sacrifice is not forgotten.

Officer 11169

May 26, 2013

thinking of you and all of your loved ones today. You are a true hero and will never be forgotten. Thank you for your dedicated service to others.

Bob Gordon
Father of Chicago Fallen Officer: Michael P. Gordon, EOW: 8/8/04

February 11, 2013

Sean, forgive my eow mistake in the last post. Today is the fifth anniversary day of your end of watch and I am sure you have been sorely missed each day of those five years.

Respectfully yours,

Phyllis Loya
Mom of fallen California Officer Larry Lasater, Pittsburg PD, eow 4/24/05

February 11, 2012

Your heroism and service is honored today, the 33rd anniversary of your death. Your memory lives and you continue to inspire. Thank you for your service. My cherished son Larry Lasater was a fellow police officer murdered in the line of duty on April 24, 2005 while serving as a Pittsburg, CA police officer.

Time never dimishes respect.and your memory will always be honored and revered. I pray for the solace of all those who love and remember you for I know both the pain and pride are forever. Your family is in my heart's embrace. Thanks to your family who have sharing their devotion to you in their loving reflections.

Phyllis Loya
Mom of fallen California Officer Larry Lasater, Pittsburg PD, eow 4/24/05

February 11, 2012

Miss you bro, you would be so proud of your family this week.
Melissa has done a great job with the COPS group, Hunter and Madison are doing great.
Jon just graduated ILEA and is following in your footsteps.
Just being at Jon's graduation made us all think of you again.
Take care bro,

R
Brother

December 11, 2011

I miss you Sean! You were and always will be a great friend! Your family will be taken care of. We have your six!

SPO
DMPD same Academy class! (Friend)

August 20, 2011

This week, while in Texas, a student let out one of your roar's of laughter. You instantly were there for a second so I gave all the soldiers and airman a break while I reflected. Thank you for the great memories and that infectious laugh of yours!

God Bless You Brother!

Coop

C/A Cooper Retired
MINE TF

July 14, 2011

Missing you ! Mel and the Kids are doing great, However I know she misses you everyday.

Lv and Miss ya !

MO!

Anonymous

April 5, 2011

Melissa,
Thank you for sharing your story with us today at the COPS training. May you and your children be blessed and watched over by Sean. Thank you for your sacrafices.

Kelly Donahue

Sgt Kelly Donahue
Madison PD

March 28, 2011

God bless you and your family. I think of you every day and know you have my back.

A Friend

March 19, 2011

Ok, Sean. I was able to partake in the Clipper gathering, and I did a crown shot. I miss you and love you. Keep watch over us.

Anonymous

February 13, 2011

Ofc. Wissink,

Rest In Peace. You are not forgotten. Keep watch over the rest of us down here as we continue the fight.

God Speed.

Ofc. D. Abbott
Peterborough Police Dept (NH)

February 13, 2011

Hey brother! I truly can not beleive that it has been 4 years since the day you left us! It still seems like it just happened. Anyway, just wanted to let you know that we are going to kick our own asses again this year in your honor! :) This is the first year that your little man is going to take part in the workout! I cant wait to see him do it! I know that he will make you proud. We will be up at the clipper again tonight to have a couple drinks in your memory. We all still miss you and think about you everyday! I will see you again someday. Until then brother, keep watch over us.

Love you,
Little Brother

Little Brother

February 11, 2011

Hey Brother,

Been thinking about you quite a bit lately. I can't get over how tall the kids are getting.....yes, both taller than me now (not saying much I know).
It is hard to believe we are starting another year....I can still hear "the laugh", and it always makes me smirk.
Just wanted to say hey, let you know we all miss you.....especially when times are hard, you always had a way of bringing calm to chaos and made sorting things out seem easy.
Anyway, love ya bro

R

R
Brother

December 31, 2010

Sean

Melisa is going thru a hard time right now. Please wrap your arms around her and let her know you are there. Know that we all think of you daily.

Anonymous

October 18, 2010

Sean
Happy Birthday- The Clipper will be rocking, a crown will be poured. Miss and Love you.

Anonymous

September 6, 2010