Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

Our family feels so blessed to know how many lives Shawn touched. Many people have reached out with kindness and generosity and felt they wanted to help but weren't sure what they could do. Members of Shawns "other family", the local PDs, have organized two fundraising events to benefit Shawn's wife and small children, so please spread the word and know that these events are aimed at honoring and celebrating Shawn's life while helping those most dear to him.
First Event: Classic Car Show, Karaoke Contest, Kids Activities, Silent Auction and Spaghetti Dinner.
October 8, 2005 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Location: Jason's Bobby and Steve's Auto World, Hwy 35E and Cty Rd 14, Lino Lakes. Questions to 651-294-2094.
Second Event: Outdoor Concert and Buffet Dinner featuring four great local bands.
October 16, 2005 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Location: Miller's on Main, 8001 Lake Drive, Lino Lakes. Questions to 651-783-7106.
Thank you to ODMP and all of you for your help, prayers, and shared memories.

Deanne Silvera

September 30, 2005

To the family, friends and co-workers of Officer Shawn Silvera,
I offer my deepest condolences in the loss of Officer Silvera. Though I didn't know him, by everything I have read, Officer Silvera made a big difference in the short time he was with us. We will always remember.
"It is not how he died that made him a hero, but how he lived".

Officer Lynn Cronquist
Minneapolis PD

September 28, 2005

On behalf of the Sheriffs Department and all the explorers, we wish to express our deepest Sympathies. Although many of us didnt get to have the privalige to meet officer Silvera, we would like to express our gratitude for his service to our state and would like to send our best to his family and the department.

Explorer Tim S.
Ramsey County Sheriffs Dept.

September 28, 2005

Shawn,
Your brave sacrifice that day brought to mind for me a Spartan poem about warriors and about the shield a warrior bares, the shield represented today by the badge.

This is my shield
I bare it before me into battle but it is not mine alone
It protects my brother on my left
It protects my city
I will never let my brother out of its shadow
Nor my city out of its shelter
I will die with my shield before me
Facing the enemy

Your city and your brothers were sheltered by your shield that day and every day you worked here.
Thanks for all you have given to your department, your city, your friends, and your family. The good memories make it both easier and harder to move on without you here with us. I have to believe that your actions that day saved the lives of others at the cost of your own. Perhaps the greatest love is not to lay down your life for a friend but to lay it down for a stranger. Although your spirit was already meeting with God, what a humble honor for me to be the one to stay with you in the ambulance and to pray for you and your family at that moment. I made a promise to you at that moment, but in truth, I can already see I made a promise not just for me, but for all of us at LLPD. The promise that we would be there for your family, especially your amazing wife and beautiful kids. That we would help them as best we can through this dark hour and the years to come. That your family is now our family and always will be. None of us can replace you, nor would we dare try. But rest well between your dances with God knowing that He, and all of us, will tend to those you entrust to our care.

Officer Steve Wagner
Lino Lakes Police Department

Officer Steve Wagner
Lino Lakes Police Department

September 28, 2005

My heart goes out to the Lino Lakes PD, you guys are awsome, also the Silvera family, God bless you. Shawn was my spanish go to guy. He was such a great guy and loved his family and was a terrific officer, he truly did die a hero.

Melissa Strege

September 26, 2005

Words cannot describe what I felt, when I got the news. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the training and stories that you told during meetings. Thank you for you dedication and personal time to teach explorers. As I am a Law Enforcement student at Alexandria, MN I dedicate all my schooling to you. I am now even more motivated to do my very best, and go over and beyond what is asked of me. You can now watch over each one of us everyday. You can lead and guide us to where we need to be, and help us out when we are in need. Mrs. Silvera, thanks for letting Shawn come and teach us in explorers. I really appreicated it. My heart goes out to you and the rest of your family. I will remember him for as long as I live. Again, Thanks Shawn for all the support and motivation. Everyday, all officers are walking the thin blue line, and I hopefully will be too. Rest in Peace.
God Bless

Ryan Voss
LLPD Explorer

September 26, 2005

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Silvera family and the Lino Lakes Police Department. Our thanks to officer Shawn Silvera for his years of service to the public and his kind heart. You are a hero.

Bryan W
St Paul Police Reserves

September 26, 2005

Shawn,
We are going to miss you! Thank you for leaving your mark on me and our department. God Bless You and your family.

Officer Mike Rumpsa
Lino Lakes Police Department

September 25, 2005

God Bless You Officer Shawn Silvera and our sincere condolences to the family.

Police Officers
Huntsville, Al Police Dept.

September 22, 2005

Thank you for the sacrifice and may you always be remembered as a hero. My prayers to you family.

Captain Scott Wright
Mount Holly Police Department, NC

September 22, 2005

Officer Silvera, Thank you for your service and dedication. After viewing your website, I have learned a lot from you. You make me appreciate what I have been blessed with. You are one of a kind. Once again, thanks.

JT

September 21, 2005

God bless you and your family for your sacrifice.

Cpl. Urs Hauser
Swiss Army, MP Service

September 21, 2005

In Valor there is Hope. Rest in God's Peace. I hope that prayer will sustain your family at this sorrowful time.

P.O. Chris Welby
Bridgeton, MO. PD

September 21, 2005

May you rest in peace Brother Silvera. God bless you, your family and co-workers who mourn you and the great sacrifice you have given in the line of duty.

Sergeant David Redmond
Marion County (Fl) Sheriff's Office

September 21, 2005

On the morning of Sept 7th I rushed from my tent here in Iraq to get to my work so that I could check my email to see who had written to me while I had slept. When I opened my email and read the first one from my wife I was shocked to read the words that she had been called by a family friend from MN the night before and to pass on to me that Shawn had been taken from us. I worked with Shawn at Coon Rapids PD as a CSO and attended college with him. I still have a copy of my Dad's MPPOA Journal with Shawn's picture on the cover learning how to handcuff. I sat in shock here in Iraq and couldn't believe that one of the nicest and most caring individuals I had ever known had been taken from us. I will always remember the times I had with Shawn roller blading in downtown Minneapolis and working out with him at the Coon Rapids High School Gym in the middle of the night. Shawn is a truly amazing person that I got to share a small bit of time with and I look forward to the day that I will see him again. God bless his family and may they find comfort in knowing that he was respected by all.

Officer Wesley T. Filson
Grand Prairie Police Dept. TX

September 20, 2005

Our deepest sympathy, may God bless your family Officer Silvera, friends, Co-workers and loved ones.
Our brother in blue, God has granted you eternal rest.
Walk your new beat, patrol Heavens streets and don’t forget to save us all a seat. Rest in peace, Our new Blue Angel.

Detective Patricia C Gagnon
Detective Edward Lewis
Palm Springs Public Safety, Fla.

Detective Patricia C Gagnon
Palm Springs Public Safety

September 20, 2005

I cant say enough about the level of proffesionalism that is displayed by the entire Lino Lakes Police Department. So to lose one of them is really hard to deal with. To hear about the kind of Giving person you were, gives all of us great comfort. You obviously made everyone you knew very proud. I will not weep for your death, yet I will thank God that a person like you ever lived. Thank You for your service and sacrifice.

Sgt Amborn
Mn D.O.C. Lino Lakes

September 17, 2005

SHAWN WAS THE BEST SPANISH SPEAKING OFFICER IN ANOKA COUNTY. MANY OFFICER'S UTILIZED HIS INTERPRETATION SKILLS TO ASSIST THEM WITH ARRESTS. SHAWN WAS ALWAYS WILLING TO HELP OUT AND MAKE HIMSELF AVAILABLE. THE LINO LAKES POLICE DEPARTMENT AND ANOKA COUNTY HAS LOST A GREAT POLICE OFFICER AND HUMAN BEING. REST IN PEACE.

OFFICER MARK BONESTEEL
SPRING LAKE PARK POLICE, MN.

September 17, 2005

Rest in peace our brohter in blue. I send out prayers to your family and all law enforcement families that have lost a love one in this line of work. I never met you, but I have because we all stand for the same thing being a police officer. You will be missed.

Officer K. A. White
Eden Prairie, MN

September 17, 2005

Shawn-I had the pleasure of meeting you when we were Explorers at Coon Rapids. You were always a role model for new Explorers, and I as well as others looked up to you and learned a lot from you. You always went above and beyond the call of duty. God speed Shawn and may you rest in peace.

Reserve LT. T. Graber
Coon Rapids Police Department

September 16, 2005

The funeral for Officer Silvera was a moving and beautiful tribute for a man that has done so much for so many. May God give comfort and strength to his family at home and his family at the Lino Lakes Police Department.

Sgt. Don Timmerman
Rochester, MN PD

September 16, 2005

Rest in Peace Brother. We are grateful for your faithfulness, service, and dedication to duty and we are proud to call you Brother. Be assured your loved ones are not alone for we are but a phone call away.

Bob Johnson VA-VI

Bob Johnson U.S. Marshal's (Ret'd)
Blue Knights International Police Assn.

September 16, 2005

To have known Shawn is an honor and a privilege. I wish that I could sit down and write everything that he has accomplished in his 32 years of life, but that would take literally days to convey. Shawn was a son, husband, father, and brother. He did his job with the utmost respect and integrity, without any regard for himself. He never once complained about going to work. He often thought of himself as Batman as he cruised the streets of Lino Lakes. In fact he even wore a Batman costume to a Halloween party when we were younger. Shawn was passionate about everything that he did, be it singing for church, playing guitar for the church, working on computers, his family, he put 100% effort into EVERYTHING he did. He took a leave of absence from his job for 2 years to join the Peace Corp and live in Honduras (the second poorest country in the world). He was a D.A.R.E. Officer, but not just any D.A.R.E. officer. After his presentation to the children, he would have lunch with them, go out on the playground and play basketball with them. He had a genuine interest in their future. If he told he was going to do something, he did it.

But, here is something that the national media didn’t cover. When he and his wife were married, he would bring her a flower on the 12th of every month (their anniversary date) without fail. Some at the department at the time thought “this will only last a couple of months, maybe 6 at the most. But then again it is Shawn, maybe a year tops”. 5 years later, on the 12th of every month his wife still received a flower from Shawn. I think that Shawn raised the bar for every man in America.

Shawn was buried on 12 September, 2005.

The incredible Officers of the Lino Lake Police Department decided that his wife should not be without a flower that day either. As the Chief was delivering a eulogy for Shawn, a member of the State Patrol honor guard walked up behind her with a flower box. The Chief then told her that for the next year, the Officers from Lino Lakes will give her a daisy on the 12th of every month. A very classy act by the department. As Shawn’s casket was being readied for interment, they folded the flag and presented it to Shawn’s wife. Then they did what I consider the most heartfelt move I have ever been witness to; they presented his Class A patrol hat to his 18 month old son by placing it on his head. For those that had the honor to witness that moment, we will never forget. Thank you Chief, you are truely a great person for that. I am tearing up just thinking about it now.

For the Silvera Family: Thank you for blessing us with the opportunity to get to know Shawn, all be it too short, it was an experience we will never forget.

To Shawn: Your shift for Lino Lakes is completed now. You report to a new Chief. Keep watch up there until we get there, we’ll take it from here, down here. Thank you for walking the thin blue line. Thanks for letting me ride with you. You are a truely inspiring person, and you will be deeply missed. God Speed, Shawn.

Just a friend of Shawn's
Coon Rapids

September 15, 2005

Not a day will go by when I won't think of you Shawn. May you rest now in peace and may your family be forever watched over by the angels. Your shoes will never be properly filled. Lino Lakes and the State of Minnesota lost a good cop on September 6th. We miss you Shawn.

Patrolman Keith Demarest
Mounds View, MN Police Dept.

September 15, 2005

Thank you Officer Silvera for your dedication to protecting and serving...You are a true brother in blue, may we have all the courage and strength that you had during your short lived time here on earth. Being a Police Officer is one of the most challenging jobs that anyone can have. It is my honor that you were able to serve with us all. I hope we meet someday, may your brothers and sisters in blue that you are with now protect you on your new "BEAT." God be with your wife,children, your family, friends and your department. Rest in Peace...my brother.

Police Officer
North Carolina

September 15, 2005