Four years to the day following the tragic loss of Washington State Patrol (WSP) Trooper Justin Schaffer, approximately 150 people gathered at Adna High School on Sunday, March 24, for a ceremony officially dedicating a stretch of state Route 6 from milepost 45 to 51 as the State Trooper Justin R. Schaffer Memorial Highway.
Among those in attendance were Schaffer’s family and friends, residents of Adna and surrounding communities, members of several local fire districts and law enforcement agencies, and members of Schaffer’s WSP district detachment.
“To Justin’s detachment, thank you for being here,” WSP District 5 Commander Jason Linn said.
Schaffer was born in 1992 in Colorado, and his family moved to Chehalis in 2006. He graduated from Adna High School in 2010.
After attaining his associate’s degree in criminal justice from Centralia College in 2012, he married his wife, Sandra, in 2013.
“Justin was hired by the Washington State Patrol in November of 2013 as a trooper-cadet assigned to the property management division,” Linn said.
He started his training shortly after in 2014. After graduating the trooper basic training class, he was commissioned as a WSP trooper assigned to Morton.
“During his career, Justin did a lot of things, including becoming a drug recognition expert and a narcotics K9 handler,” Linn said.
In 2018, Schaffer transferred to Chehalis, where he would continue to work until he was killed in the line of duty on March 24, 2020, at the age of 28, after being struck by a fleeing robbery suspect while attempting to deploy a spike strip.
“On this solemn day four years ago, I got one of those calls that no chief wants to receive,” WSP Chief John Batiste said. “... When you lose one of the members of your agency, it’s like losing your brother or your sister, and, for me, when you get to my age, it’s like losing one of your kids. Justin was one of those special young men.”
Additionally, 19th District state Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview — who sponsored the bill to get the memorial highway dedication during the last legislative session — along with 20th District state Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, and 20th District state Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Centralia, were all in attendance at the ceremony.
“Trooper Justin R. Schaffer will forever be remembered for his dedication, humility and as a courageous public servant,” Wilson said.
The 6-mile stretch of state Route 6 was chosen to honor Schaffer’s six years of service in the WSP.
Following the ceremony at Adna High School, those in attendance drove down state Route 6 in a procession to unveil the sign officially dedicating the 6-mile stretch as the State Trooper Justin R. Schaffer Memorial Highway.
Schaffer was one of several state troopers who attempted to stop a high-speed chase March 24, 2020, by laying out spike strips on Interstate 5. Police were on the tail of robbery suspect William David Thompson, who reached speeds of more than 100 mph in his Ford pickup. He swerved around the strips and veered directly toward Schaffer, striking him and killing him.
Moments later, Thompson targeted a second patrolman and hit his car instead. Eventually, Thompson lost control of his truck and crashed. He was arrested after an hour-and-a-half standoff with police.
Thompson, 41, was sentenced in 2022 to 45 years in prison for murder and attempted murder.
