Captain Don Shearer, head of the State Safety Patrol in this area, said the other day in Nebraska City that the late State Trooper Raymond Koerber was "one of the best officers we have. He didn't have an enemy in the world."
The captain spoke with affection toward a 14-year veteran of the Safety Patrol. Nebraska has 187 state officers.
Officer Koerber was killed in the line of duty. He was pursuing a speeder when his car collided with a car and a truck. He didn't get his man, but Nebraska City officers got the man for him.
It must take a lot of patience to be a law enforcement officer, patrol the highways 10 hours a day, choke down smart remarks while issuing a ticket to a motorist who really was going 80 instead of 65 m. p. h., as he said, and who decides that the officer is a servant of the public and he should not bother a motorist who didn't mean to break the speeding law.
The toughest part yet must be to live in a small community and have friends and at the same time crack the law whip now and then, but Ray did it and he did it with ease.
He liked his job and loved his family. He liked Nebraska City and was active in his church. He particularly liked to have a 'cuppa coffee' with the fellas and he liked to josh.
Not just Nebraska City, but law enforcement in general miss him. When Sheriff Ralph Hall was hospitalized, it was Ray who made it an extra point to check with the sheriff's office and offer his service.
He believed it was his duty to run down a speeder and he gave his life in an effort to make our highways safer.