News @ Noon: Klinefelter Family Hosting Events to Honor Fallen Officer

ST. JOSEPH - A private, and public, event will be held tomorrow (Friday) night on the 20th anniversary of the night St. Joseph police officer Brian Klinefelter was shot and killed.

Spokesman John Tragiai says it's been important for the Klinefelter family to keep his memory alive for the past 20 years.

It affects the family certainly when the anniversary comes around. I know it affects people that were involved that night. I  happened to be one of the officers that was involved that night, so it affects me. It affects so many people in so many different ways. And I think it's important for the family to keep his name alive. Not only because he paid the ultimate sacrifice, but because of the person he was.

Tragiai says the private remembrance will be from 7:00 until 9:00 p.m. with about 125 people invited, including all the people involved the night officer Klinefelter was killed: the responding officers, paramedics, doctors and nurses.

A public event will start at 9:00 p.m. with the band Diamondback playing at La Playette in St. Joseph.

Tragiai says the Klinefelter family started the business KEEPRS, and founded the Brian Klinefelter Memorial Foundation, to stay connected to law enforcement.

For them this is not just a business. They, myself, and our staff really has a genuine concern for our law enforcement, for our public safety. They're more than just customers, they're family, and they're important to us. I think it's great that we can put on an event like this and keep Brian's memory alive, and hopefully raise some money for the foundation as well.

This will be a fundraiser for the Brian Klinefelter Memorial Foundation.

Yesterday (Wednesday) we had a story with St. Cloud native Andy Marso who has written a book about the night Brian Klinefelter was killed.

Tomorrow (Friday) we'll recap the events that led up to his death 20 years ago.