ELDON, Mo. - No Eldon police officer will be assigned the daily service number 833 in the future. The Board of Aldermen passed a resolution Tuesday retiring the number last worn by Deputy Casey Shoemate, who died in the line of duty.
Shoemate worked for the Eldon Police Department for four years before he accepted a position with the Miller County Sheriff's Department in October 2017. He previously worked for the Versailles Police Department.
On April 20, Shoemate was traveling south on Route Y in his patrol vehicle as he responded to a residential structure fire on Hittridge Road, off Route Y between Eldon and Rocky Mount. He encountered a fire apparatus, also traveling south, that was not using sirens or lights.
When he attempted to pass the fire apparatus, he struck a northbound vehicle driven by Florissant resident Robert Levin, 65.
Shoemate was pronounced dead at the scene.
Eldon Police Chief Brian Kidwell said he brought up the option of retiring the number to Mayor Larry Henderson.
"I just can't see anyone else carrying the number," Kidwell said.
Former Police Chief Rodney Fair assigned what was his former badge number to Shoemate. It was Fair's number when he started with the police department.
"I think that's very deserving of that young man," Henderson said after signing the resolution.
Louie Gregoire, of Miller County Sheriff's Department, said this is a common practice for officers killed on duty.
"When they die in the line of duty, we retire their badge number so nobody else gets it," Gregoire said.
The department retired Shoemate's daily service number, 5318, last year.