Fallen officer’s department shows up to celebrate his son’s first day of kindergarten

DENHAM SPRINGS, La. (Gray News) – A police department in Louisiana helped make a fallen officer’s son’s first day of school extra special.

Liam, the son of fallen officer Cpl. Shawn Kelly with the Denham Springs Police Department, started kindergarten on Thursday.

Kelly was shot in the line of duty on May 11 and died from his injuries on June 2.

Kelly’s fellow officers with the DSPD showed up Thursday to help send Liam off to kindergarten since his dad couldn’t be there.

The department posted photos of the special day on Facebook, showing Liam standing proudly with a backpack, surrounded by officers cheering him on.

“We wanted him [Kelly] to know just how much his blue family supported him, and we were honored to help make sure that Liam’s first day was unforgettable,” the department wrote in the Facebook post.

Kelly began his law enforcement career in 1994 with the Louisiana Department of Corrections and joined the DSPD in 2019 as a taser instructor and field training officer.

Kelly’s fellow officers with the DSPD showed up Thursday to help send Liam off to... — Kelly’s fellow officers with the DSPD showed up Thursday to help send Liam off to kindergarten, since his dad couldn’t be there.(Denham Springs Police Department)

On May 11, Kelly responded to a call about a man involved in several road rage incidents in the area who was arguing with a woman he did not know in the parking lot of a shopping center. Upon arriving, the man opened fire on Kelly from his car, striking the officer multiple times, police said.

DSPD Chief Rodney Walker said at the time of Kelly’s death that the community lost “a great public servant, a great father, grandfather, husband and just a great human being.”

The suspect fled the scene but was later shot and killed by a Livingston Parish Sheriff’s deputy.

Denham Springs is located about 15 miles east of Baton Rouge.