Bardstown Officer Jason Ellis remembered as another year passes without answers

Saturday marks 11 years since Bardstown Officer Jason Ellis was ambushed and murdered on his way home from work. Loved ones gathered Friday to honor his memory.

Bardstown Officer Jason Ellis remembered as another year passes without answers

Saturday marks 11 years since Bardstown Officer Jason Ellis was ambushed and murdered on his way home from work. Loved ones gathered Friday to honor his memory.

MEMORY. LAUREN ADAMS HAS MORE FROM BARDSTOWN. WELL, 11 YEARS AFTER OFFICER JASON ELLIS WRAPPED UP HIS FINAL SHIFT PULLING OUT OF THIS PARKING LOT FOR THE VERY LAST TIME, DOZENS RETURNED HERE HONORING NOT JUST HIS SACRIFICE, BUT HIS LEGACY. OUR MEMORY OF JASON SERVES AS A CONSTANT REMINDER OF THE SACRIFICES MADE BY OUR BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN IN LAW ENFORCEMENT. A WREATH AT THE MEMORIAL BEARING HIS NAME, A SALUTE AND TEARS THAT FALL AS EASILY AS THEY DID MORE THAN A DECADE AGO. ON FRIDAY, OFFICERS, LOVED ONES AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS ONCE AGAIN GATHERED TO HONOR OFFICER JASON ELLIS. THIS MEMORIAL SERVICE IS MORE THAN A CEREMONY. IT’S A VITAL ACT OF REMEMBRANCE AND RESPECT. IT’S A TIME TO REFLECT ON THE BRAVERY AND SELFLESSNESS THAT JASON EMBODIED EVERY DAY. THE MURDER OF ELLIS REMAINS ONE OF BARDSTOWN’S DARKEST CHAPTERS, AS HE WAS GUNNED DOWN IN EXIT 34 OF THE BLUEGRASS PARKWAY WHEN HE STOPPED TO REMOVE DEBRIS IN AN INSTANT, AMY ELLIS BROWN WAS A WIDOW LEFT ALONE TO RAISE THEIR TWO YOUNG SONS. IT’S HARD NOT TO REFLECT. EVERY MAY ON THOSE LAST DAYS THAT WE HAD THE JASON. I WILL FOREVER REMEMBER IT LIKE IT WAS YESTERDAY, SEARED IN MY MEMORY UNTIL THE END OF TIME. WHILE FINAL DAYS WERE PRECIOUS, THE YEARS THAT FOLLOWED BROUGHT HEARTACHE. AS I LOOK AT OUR BOYS, I CAN PAINFULLY SEE HOW MUCH TIME HAS PASSED AND IT BREAKS MY HEART THINKING ABOUT ALL THE MILESTONES THAT HE HAS MISSED. 11 YEARS AGO. THEY WERE GRADUATING KINDERGARTEN. AND THIS YEAR THEY ARE FINISHING UP THEIR JUNIOR YEAR AND BECOMING YOUNG MEN THEMSELVES. I KNOW JASON WOULD BE SO PROUD OF THEM. IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE SO MUCH TIME HAS PASSED WITHOUT HIM AND WITHOUT JUSTICE. BUT THOSE HERE ARE CONFIDENT THERE WILL BE JUSTICE ONE DAY. WHILE IT’S A GRAVE SORROW THAT NO ONE HAS YET BEEN CHARGED WITH THIS UNTHINKABLE CRIME, WE HOLD FIRM IN OUR TRUST THAT JUSTICE WI
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Bardstown Officer Jason Ellis remembered as another year passes without answers

Saturday marks 11 years since Bardstown Officer Jason Ellis was ambushed and murdered on his way home from work. Loved ones gathered Friday to honor his memory.

On Friday afternoon, as music played, a wreath was placed at the memorial bearing the name of Officer Jason Ellis. Officers, loved ones and community members had once again gathered to honor the Bardstown officer."This memorial service is more than a ceremony. It's a vital act of remembrance and respect, it's a time to reflect on the bravery and selflessness that Jason embodied every day," Bardstown Chief of Police Kim Kraeszig said.The murder of Ellis remains one of Bardstown's darkest chapters. He was gunned down at Exit 34 of the Bluegrass Parkway when he stopped to remove debris that had deliberately been placed in his path. In an instant, Amy Ellis Brown was a widow, left alone to raise their two sons."It's hard not to reflect every May on those last days that we had with Jason. I will forever remember it like it was yesterday, seared into my memory until the end of time," she said, when speaking to the crowd.While final days were precious, the years that followed, Ellis Brown said, brought heartache.“As I look at our boys I can painfully see how much time has passed and it breaks my heart thinking about all the milestones he has missed. 11 years ago they were graduating kindergarten. And this year they are finishing up their junior year and becoming young men themselves. I know Jason would be so proud of them it's hard to believe so much time has passed without him and without justice,” Ellis Brown said.But Ellis Brown and others are confident there will be justice, one day."While it's a grave sorrow no one has yet been charged with this unthinkable crime we hold firm justice will prevail. We believe those who committed this evil act will one day face the justice they deserve," Kraeszig said.Currently there is a reward of more than $200,000 for information leading to an arrest or arrests.

On Friday afternoon, as music played, a wreath was placed at the memorial bearing the name of Officer Jason Ellis. Officers, loved ones and community members had once again gathered to honor the Bardstown officer.

"This memorial service is more than a ceremony. It's a vital act of remembrance and respect, it's a time to reflect on the bravery and selflessness that Jason embodied every day," Bardstown Chief of Police Kim Kraeszig said.

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The murder of Ellis remains one of Bardstown's darkest chapters. He was gunned down at Exit 34 of the Bluegrass Parkway when he stopped to remove debris that had deliberately been placed in his path. In an instant, Amy Ellis Brown was a widow, left alone to raise their two sons.

"It's hard not to reflect every May on those last days that we had with Jason. I will forever remember it like it was yesterday, seared into my memory until the end of time," she said, when speaking to the crowd.

While final days were precious, the years that followed, Ellis Brown said, brought heartache.

“As I look at our boys I can painfully see how much time has passed and it breaks my heart thinking about all the milestones he has missed. 11 years ago they were graduating kindergarten. And this year they are finishing up their junior year and becoming young men themselves. I know Jason would be so proud of them it's hard to believe so much time has passed without him and without justice,” Ellis Brown said.

But Ellis Brown and others are confident there will be justice, one day.

"While it's a grave sorrow no one has yet been charged with this unthinkable crime we hold firm justice will prevail. We believe those who committed this evil act will one day face the justice they deserve," Kraeszig said.

Currently there is a reward of more than $200,000 for information leading to an arrest or arrests.

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