Officer Thomas Decker Remembered 10 Years After Death

(KNSI) — On November 29th, 2012, Rosella Decker received one of the worst phone calls any parent could possibly get.

She was told her son, Cold Spring Police officer Tom Decker had been gunned down by an unknown assailant while on a welfare check.

She tells KNSI it is still difficult to put into words what it felt like, saying, “Your whole world comes tumbling down. Just…all your plans together. Everything is just broken up. Cracked. And your heart is broken.”

Rosella says Thomas was a bright personality who was easily able to connect with everyone.

“I miss the wonderful stories that Tommy used to tell me. You know, and he always had a way of — he was the department jokester. He was always the light in every situation.”

Rosella says Tom had four children, whom he loved dearly, and had several hobbies, including playing ball in the summer, and he collected police badges from departments across the country. He had even gotten into the hobby of redesigning badges using a program on his computer.

She says he was a wonderful son and says she is so proud of him. She says she is grateful to have had him in her life for 31 years.

A fundraising campaign is underway for a permanent memorial to officer Decker and all police officers to be built in Cold Spring. Learn how to contribute here.

No one was ever charged in connection to Decker’s murder. A person of interest died by suicide as police were closing in. The case was closed in 2018.

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