SSVFD Supports Celebration of Life Service for Officer Kyle Olinger – Wednesday, June 12, 2019

On Wednesday, June 12, 2019, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) Trucks 731 and 725 crossed ladders high above Olney-Sandy Spring Road (Rt. 108) and Old Vic Boulevard to form an arch under which travelled the procession carrying the ashes of Officer Kyle Olinger to Our Lady of Good Counsel High School. The Stars and Stripes, suspended between the two ladders, fluttered in the breeze. The procession included Montgomery County Police (MCP) motorcycle officers and marked police cars. Members of the military were also present as Officer Olinger served his country as a Marine before becoming a police officer. The Sandy Spring Volunteer Fire Department (SSVFD) provided Ambulance 704 and Canteen 740 to support the service and the needs of those in attendance.
Officer Olinger was shot in the neck on August 13, 2003 during a traffic stop and had been paralyzed and in a wheel chair ever since. On April 18, 2019, he succumbed to complications from the injuries sustained in the assault and his death was ruled a Line of Duty Death (LODD). Family, friends, colleagues, and dignitaries gathered at Good Counsel for a Celebration of Life Service for Officer Olinger. Retired Montgomery County Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said in his eulogy of Officer Olinger “My hope is that in the ensuing years, Kyle was able to reflect back on that experience and on some level, understand how much he was appreciated, how much he was respected, and how much he was admired”. The members of the SSVFD extend their condolences to Officer Olinger’s family, friends, and colleagues on the death of this brave officer. May he Rest in Peace.