A highway dedication ceremony honoring fallen Washington State Patrol (WSP) Trooper Justin R. Schaffer will take place Sunday, marking the four-year anniversary of Schaffer’s death.
The ceremony will begin at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 24, at Adna High School, Schaffer’s alma mater.
Schaffer, 28, was killed in the line of duty on March 24, 2020. He was deploying spike strips on Interstate 5 near Chehalis when he was struck by a car driven by a fleeing robbery suspect.
At the time of his death, Schaffer served more than six years with the WSP.
Two Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) signs will designate a 6-mile section of state Route 6 to serve “as an honor and reminder of Trooper Schaffer’s ultimate sacrifice — “one mile for each of his six years of service to the agency and people of Washington state,” WSP said in a news release.
Members of Schaffer’s district command staff, as well as WSP Chief John R. Batiste, will speak before moving to the first sign located on state Route 6 at milepost 51.
Both lanes of state Route 6 will be blocked during sign unveiling, with members of WSDOT assisting with traffic control.
After the first sign unveiling, those in attendance will conduct a short procession to milepost 45 to view the second sign.
The dedication ceremony comes after a bill to rename a segment of state Route 6 after Schaffer passed in the state Legislature this year.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, offered “six miles of remembrance” for Schaffer by renaming a stretch of highway passing through the community of Adna, where Schaffer grew up and lived with his wife Sandra. The segment will be known as the Justin R. Schaffer Memorial Highway.
“His job was to serve us,” Wilson said. “Our job is to never stop remembering Trooper Justin Schaffer.”
Schaffer graduated from Adna High School and Centralia College, where he earned an associate’s degree in criminal justice. He was commissioned as an officer with the Washington State Patrol in 2014. Special assignments included work as an instructor, a drug recognition expert and a canine handler.
In testimony before the Senate Transportation Committee, Schaffer’s father, Glenn, a former Chehalis police chief, said his son landed his “dream job” when he joined the Washington State Patrol. Renaming the highway is “a great honor for a young man who did so much for the citizens of the state,” he said.
