• Article Photo.
  • Article Photo. Addy Ingham: Daniel Webster's granddaughter poses near his name on the National Law Enforcement Memorial Wall.
    Addy Ingham: Daniel Webster's granddaughter poses near his name on the National Law Enforcement Memorial Wall.
  • Article Photo.
  • Article Photo.
A year ago today, Vinton resident Becca Ingham received the call that every police officer's family member dreads: Her father, Daniel Scott Webster, an 9-year veteran of the Albuquerque, N.M., Police Department, had been shot by a career criminal. In the days following, Rebecca and her sisters, Danielle Modrow and Ashleigh Webster, were able to travel to see their father before his death. "This last year has just added another reason to never give up," says Ingham. "I now know what it's like to have that final moment with a parent and wish that I would have done this and I wish I could have done that and to wish for that one last time to give them a big ol' hug followed with an 'I love you!' So, we try more, we push harder and we love greater, so that if anything ever happens to us, our children will always have that one last hug and 'I love you.' They will have less to wish they could have done and less to wish they would have done.This last year has made me a better parent; it has brought our little family closer and driven us to be the best that we can be." Also, adds Ingham, "we have added love in our hearts for all police officers." Blue porch lights, a "Thin Blue Line" flag, and even a hand-crafted "Thin Blue Line" display made with wire by her husband Jon have adorned the Ingham house in the past year. Addy Ingham: Daniel Webster's granddaughter poses near his name on the National Law Enforcement Memorial Wall. Grandchildren's grief Officer Webster's survivors also include several young grandchildren: Addyson, Jaxson, Sophia, Raelynn, Quincy, Braydon and Patrick and the youngest grandchild born in the past year, a son of Ashleigh, whom she named Oliver Daniel. Jax, one of the Ingham's children, enjoys dressing up as a police officer; his photo was also included on a recent Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S) flier. Jax and his sisters are also dealing with their grief, says their mom. 'Officer Max:' Jax Ingham loves dressing up as a police officer, and still at times discusses his grandpa.
"Addyson is 9 and old enough to understand everything, so she feels the same pain and the same loss we feel," says Ingham. "She constantly draws pictures and letters on anything and everything that represents her grandpa or other police officers. She has worn her Thin Blue Line bracelet everyday since the day we got home from Albuquerque and she asks questions like 'Do you think if Grandpa Scott were here he would like this picture?' And she says things like 'I bet Grandpa is looking down and smiling at us right now, don't you think?'
Jaxson, age 4 and he was already into being a policeman and now he is obsessed and even goes by the name "Officer Max," says his mom.
"Don't ask me where he got the 'Max' part but that's who he is," says Ingham. "His grandpa's passing hasn't been as hard on him as it has the rest of us, because he is so little he doesn't feel the emotion we feel. However, he has a silent moment in those times that the rest of us cry and he understands it all but he has been blessed to be so young and not saddened by all of it. He also wears his bracelet and his badge on occasion, but not every day. He doesn't really ask questions, but he likes to tell us facts, as though he's reassuring us that he understands what happened by repeating things like 'Grandpa Scott was shot by a bad guy,' and 'Grandpa Scott died.'"
"He was my hero and always will be," says Modrow. "I want to let everyone know is he was a good man and a good dad." Modrow adds that the experience has been hard on the whole family, but also says that through this experience she has made great new friend in Albuquerque, and the new friendship has helped her much. Many of Webster's family members, including the grandchildren, were in Washington, D.C., when Officer Webster's name was added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial earlier this year. "It was a week-long affair to honor all officers who died in 2015," Ingham explains. "During that week, we also buried Dad in Arlington National Cemetery." Retired as a Sergeant First Class out of the 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army after 20 years of service, Webster was ahighly decorated military infantryman. His awards included two Bronze Stars. He was a Jump Master with 112 jumps to his credit during multiple deployments and combat tours in Panama, Bosnia, Africa, Gulf War I (Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm), Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait. The suspect in Webster's murder, Davon Lymon, had served 10 years in prison after a 2001 shooting; he was charged with murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He had also been arrested for several felonies since his release in 2011. Lymon has been in prison since the shooting, and faces federal drug trafficking and weapons charges. He has not yet been charged for the officer's murder. Memorial service held Friday in N.M. At a gathering on Friday, Albuquerque police joined Webster's widow,Michelle Carlino-Webster, in a tribute to him. Carlin0-Webster recalled how she had met Dan and how he liked the idea of becoming an ABQ officer because "Albuquerque was always on 'Cops.'' See the video of that service HERE. See a previous Vinton Today story about Webster's accused killer, and his criminal history, HERE. See a video of Officer Webster's funeral procession and final dispatch last year below: [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRE5YjgL098[/embed]