By James Tinley
Register Staff
MILFORD — Every time city police officers suit up for work, empty locker No. 43 stares back at them, serving as a reminder of the ultimate sacrifice a fellow officer made 21 years ago on April 12.
To pay tribute to that fallen officer, Officer Daniel S. Wasson, shown at right, city police asked that officers wear a black shroud over their badges last Saturday. Wasson was gunned down in Milford while making a routine traffic stop April 12, 1987.
Officer James Kiely said last week that police also hoped residents would "think of Danny and the sacrifice he made for the citizens of this city."
In Milford, several memorials have been created to honor Wasson, which is a testament to the indelible affect the slain officer had on the city, said Deputy Chief Steve Fournier.
In 2003, the Milford Connector, which runs between Interstate 95 and the Wilbur Cross Parkway, was officially renamed the “Daniel S. Wasson Connector.”
Then-Gov. John G. Rowland signed the measure. Hundreds turned out to honor Wasson. The ballfield behind Parsons Government Center also is named Daniel Wasson Field in his honor, and there is a stone memorial to him on Daniel Street.
“Danny ... will never be forgotten,” Fournier said. “He was a fantastic officer and had a lot of potential.”
Wasson was a two-year member of the force, but in that short time, he became an officer others wanted to emulate, Fournier said.
Wasson was on patrol, with his dog, General, in the early morning when he spotted a car driving erratically on Boston Post Road.
Wasson stopped the car near the Orange line and called in his location to headquarters. He wrote down the car’s license plate number before he got out of his cruiser.
Police said Thomas A. Hoyesen got out of his car, pulled out a revolver and shot Wasson in the chest.
Hoyesen was caught in Bridgeport a short time later. He pleaded guilty to capital murder charges, avoiding a possible death sentence.
Hoyesen, now 54, was sentenced in 1988 to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He is incarcerated at the high/maximum security MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield, Department of Correction online records show.
The record shows that his maximum sentence is 999 years, 99 months and 999 days.
James Tinley can be reached at jtinley@nhregister.com or 401-3530.