It's been four years since the Plymouth Township Police Department lost Officer Bradley Fox, its first officer ever to be killed in the line of duty.
Fox, 34, died Sept. 13, 2012 after an armed man shot both him and his canine partner, Nick. Fox pursued the man on foot after he fled from a vehicle chase, and caught up with him in the area of Conshohocken Road and Ernest Station Road, where the man pulled a gun and shot both Fox and his canine before turning the gun on himself.
Nick survived the shooting, but Fox died of a gunshot wound to his head. Fox would have turned 35 the day after he died. The shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Fox, a Marine who served two tours in Iraq, left behind a young daughter, his wife, Lynsay, and a son born six months after his death who shares his name.
Fox's legacy left a permanent mark on Montgomery County and Pennsylvania, which passed a law in his memory cracking down on straw purchases of firearms in the aftermath of his death. The investigation into the weapon used to kill Fox revealed that it had been illegally purchased, then given to the ex-con who shot him.
The Brad Fox Law stiffened penalties for straw purchases, increasing mandatory minimum sentences for anyone convicted of illegally purchasing a firearm to give to someone who can't legally own one.
The Brad Fox Scholarship Fund also awards a scholarship each year to a graduating senior from Fox's alma mater, William Tennent High School, who plans to pursue a career in law enforcement.
