On September 13, 2012, Bradley Michael Fox, a 34-year-old male police officer with the Plymouth Township Police Department in Pennsylvania, was tragically shot and killed while pursuing a suspect. Officer Fox, a U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran, had served with the department for seven years. He was killed the day before his 35th birthday.
The incident occurred along the Schuylkill River Trail near the intersection of Conshohocken and Ernest Station Roads.
Officer Fox and his canine partner, Nick, were involved in a foot pursuit of Andrew Thomas, who had fled from a hit-and-run traffic accident. During the pursuit, Thomas ambushed Officer Fox and his canine partner, fatally shooting Officer Fox and wounding Nick. Thomas then turned the gun on himself and committed suicide.
An investigation revealed that Thomas was on felony probation at the time and was also the prime suspect in the disappearance of his fiancée in 1999. The firearm used in the murder was illegally purchased by Michael Henry, who then sold it to Thomas. Henry was subsequently arrested for multiple firearms violations and was sentenced to 20 to 66 years in prison.
In the aftermath of Officer Fox's death, the "Brad Fox Law" was passed in October 2012, restoring a minimum five-year sentence for anyone convicted of killing a law enforcement officer in Montgomery County. Additionally, Lynsay Fox, Officer Fox's widow, filed a lawsuit against the gun dealer, In Site Firearms, for selling the weapon to Henry, who then transferred it to Thomas.
Officer Fox is survived by his wife Lynsay, his young daughter, and his expectant wife. His legacy lives on through the Bradley M. Fox Memorial Highway, named in his honor in September 2014.
