Dillon Vakoff died protecting a family. His mother and his fellow officer won’t let Colorado forget why.

By Gabe Evans and Lisa Vakoff | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

In 2025, 115 police officers in the United States paid the ultimate price. Officers who survive their careers carry lifelong scars and health complications. The average American experiences their first heart attack at the average age of 65. Police officers get their first heart attack at age 46. Stress, lack of sleep, and violent criminals are just a few of the hazards that cops face every day. 

To honor their service, in 1962, Congress and President John F. Kennedy proclaimed May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the calendar week during which it occurs as Police Week. It is a time to honor the brave men and women in law enforcement who put on the badge and willingly step into danger to protect our communities, and to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice. 

As a former police officer, and as a mother of a fallen officer, this week and its meaning are deeply personal to both of us.

From Lisa Vakoff: In September of 2022, my son, Arvada Police Officer Dillon Vakoff, was killed in the line of duty while responding to a domestic violence call. He died protecting an entire family, including children. Dillon was my son, he was a friend to so many, and he left this earth a hero. 

Losing Dillon forever changed my life, and the lives of those who loved him, but it also revealed to me something deeper about those who wear the uniform every day. Behind every badge is a human being — a mother or father, a husband or wife, a son or daughter — and loved ones praying they make it home safely at the end of every shift.  

Before becoming a police officer, Dillon served in the United States Air Force, where he learned and embraced the motto, “That others may live.” That spirit of sacrifice defined the way that he lived his life and the way he served his community. He understood the risks of his profession, but he believed deeply in his purpose to protect others and leave the world better than he found it.

From Congressman Gabe Evans: As an Army veteran and former police officer who served with Dillon, I witnessed his sense of duty and his love for serving something greater than himself. These are sentiments and values that every officer shares. I know our law enforcement heroes are often asked to carry impossible burdens. They respond to people experiencing the worst moments of their lives, walk into situations most people spend their lives trying to avoid, and make split-second decisions under unimaginable pressure, all while carrying the weight of knowing there is no guarantee they will return home.

In those extraordinary tragedies where we lose heroes like Dillon, it has nevertheless been a blessing to see so many different people come together in extraordinary ways. In moments of unimaginable grief, officers, first responders, neighbors, friends, and complete strangers stand shoulder to shoulder. In those moments, we are reminded of something bigger. Law enforcement officers are not separate from the communities they serve — they are woven into the very fabric of them.

Evans and Vakoff: At every police funeral, two solemn promises are made. “Never forget.” “Rest easy; we have the watch from here.” It is our duty as the living to remember those lives lost in service, to carry with us a spark of their courage and commitment, and to encourage and animate future generations with that spark. Because if we want peace and freedom, future generations must also take up the mantle of the thin blue line. There will always be those who prey on peaceful society, and so there must always be those who defend society. Our fallen brothers and sisters rest easy because they know their sacrifice was not in vain. We the living carry on the work for which they gave their last full measure of devotion by honoring and supporting those who have the watch from here. 

This Police Week, we ask Americans to remember the people behind the badge, honor the heroes we have lost, and never take for granted men and women who at this very moment stand watch over our communities so “that others may live.” 

Lisa Vakoff is the mother of fallen Arvada Police Officer Dillon Vakoff, who was killed in the line of duty on September 11, 2022, while responding to a domestic disturbance. Since her son’s death, she has worked alongside the Arvada Police Foundation and other survivor networks to support officers, families of the fallen, and the communities they serve. She speaks publicly about law enforcement sacrifice, addiction recovery, single-parent families, and the systemic gaps her son spent his career trying to close. She lives in Colorado.

Congressman Gabe Evans represents Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, which includes most of Adams County, Weld County north through Greeley, and part of Larimer County. Before Congress, he served 12 years in the U.S. Army and Colorado Army National Guard as a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter pilot and company commander, completing a combat deployment to the Middle East and responding to wildfires and search and rescues across Colorado. He joined the Arvada Police Department in 2011, where he served alongside Officer Dillon Vakoff and reached the rank of lieutenant before retiring in 2022 to run for the Colorado House. He was elected to Congress in 2024. Evans and his wife, Anne, raise their two sons on a family farm in southern Weld County.

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.