Memorial ceremony highlights trooper's sacrifice

COEUR d’ALENE — One by one, law enforcement officers placed roses at the memorial for Idaho State Police Trooper Linda Huff.

Then, each stood straight, paused and saluted.

The line stretched back into the ISP Region 1 parking lot on a hot Thursday afternoon. No one minded the wait or the heat.

It was clear. They remember well Huff’s sacrifice. This was the least they could do. And they miss her.

“She was taken from us by a nameless coward who laid in wait to ambush her outside our former ISP office,” said ISP Sgt. Ron Sutton.

About 200 people, many veterans, attended the 30-minute memorial ceremony to honor Huff. While it’s been 23 years since Huff was shot and killed on June 17, 1998, Sutton said "it still feels like yesterday to many of us.”

Sutton was a rookie trooper, 22, when he met Huff. He remembers her as a kind woman with a big smile.

Her death, Sutton said, “holds a brutal reminder of the danger that each of us accept each and every day we put on the badge.”

Despite being shot multiple times late at night in the ISP District 1 headquarters parking lot after returning from patrol, Huff returned fire, injuring the suspect. He was arrested moments later and would be found guilty of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Huff died at the scene.

At the time of her death, Huff had served with the ISP for 14 months. She was survived by her husband, who was also a state trooper, and three children.

On May 13, 2005, Trooper Huff was posthumously awarded the first Idaho Law Enforcement and Firefighting Medal of Honor. The ISP District 1 office in Coeur d’Alene today bears her name, and visitors are greeted with a stone memorial surrounded by a rose garden.

Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said Huff’s memory is still vivid in the hearts and minds of the community.

“We will never forget Linda Huff or the price she and her family paid. We stand with them as the hurt continue to this day,” he said.

Norris called on the community to continue to support Kootenai County’s law enforcement.

“The flags, the stickers on the cars, the social media comments, the friendly waves, and the ‘thank you for your service’ comments — they do not go unnoticed by me, my officers or those serving," he said.

Norris said he was honored to stand in thanks “to heroes like Linda Huff.

"And I'm honored to stand beside the local heroes who continue to serve this community today."

Sutton, too, said he and other officers appreciate community support.

“Let us not forget the dangers associated with this profession and remember those who gladly accept those dangers to keep our community safe,” he said.

Sgt. Paul Berger read a letter on behalf of ISP Col. Kedrick Wills.

“Trooper Huff was proud of saying that she gave 100% of her effort toward the service she provided to this community. Today, we know she gave much more,” he said.

Berger said Huff’s dedication to protect and serve the people of a state she loved “was evident through her final moments.

“As we honor Cpl. Huff, ISP Car 512, we rededicate ourselves to carry on her legacy to protect and serve our communities," he said. "We are forever in debt to her and her family for the sacrifices they made to protect us all.”