Mother of slain Pope County Deputy Josh Owen remembers son as proud father: "I don't think it's really hit me yet"
GLENWOOD, Minn. – Outside the Pope County Sheriff's Office in Glenwood is a growing memorial for Deputy Josh Owen.
He was killed in the line of duty during an attempted arrest of a domestic assault suspect in Cyrus on Saturday night.
His colleagues placed Deputy Owen's squad car on the front lawn of the sheriff's office on Sunday and people came by to pay their respects, whether they knew him personally or not.
"I don't think it's really hit me yet," said Kathy Yarns, Deputy Owen's mom.
She is left in disbelief that her son is gone. Deputy Owen left behind a wife and 10-year-old son.
"Rylan is just so kind hearted and his dad's so proud of him," Yarns said.
Yarns drove by the memorial for her son. His squad car that he drove with his K-9 partner, Karma, is now adorned with flowers.
"He was a good guy. He loved his job. Karma was his buddy, his pal," Yarns said.
Deputy Owen was recently honored for his hard work with a "Distinguished Service Award."
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"I know how much he loved the police chief and the guys he worked with. He just held them in such high regard," Yarns said.
The whole community is grieving. As you drive into Glenwood, every flag is at half-mast, and the Glenwood Fire Department flew an American flag over Minnesota Avenue as people passed the sheriff's office.
Many people who have ties to law enforcement feel the family's pain and felt called to show up to the memorial on Sunday, including Cindy Owen, who is not related to the family. She also has a son in law enforcement.
"Police officers risk their lives every single day to try to protect and serve other people, and you just never when this day is going to come," Owen said.
Jodi Schuster, who came by the memorial on Sunday, says she's disturbed by how often these losses happen.
"As the daughter of a person from law enforcement, you pray they come home because tomorrow isn't guaranteed," Schuster said. "Things like this make our younger generation be afraid to be law enforcement. We need law enforcement."
To add to the pain of this loss, Deputy Owen died on his birthday. He had just turned 44 years old.
Investigators say a gun was found near the suspect after the shooting, and all officers involved were wearing active body cameras.
The names of the other deputy, officer and suspect have not been released. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is handling the investigation of the shooting.
They say there have now been seven Minnesota officers shot in the line of duty in 2023.
