Physical workout to honor fallen Clark County Deputy Suzanne Hopper

Clark County Sheriff’s Deputy Suzanne Hopper will be honored for her service to the community during a workout in Zanesville on Saturday.

Hopper’s death struck the law enforcement community hard because she was the first officer killed in the line of duty nationwide in 2011.

She was shot to death on New Year’s Day after responding to a shots-fired call at Enon Beach campground. The shooter, Michael Ferryman, was later killed by other officers in a gun battle.

Patrolman Bryan Wolfe and other Zanesville police officers have been planning weekly workouts honoring fallen members of various services and this week Hopper was chosen.

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“This was just going to be something for us to do. We always do them on Wednesdays,” said Wolfe. “We thought, why don’t we do this on a Saturday this time because this one is so special and see if other people want to do it with us.”

Wolfe reached out to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio State Highway Patrol, the CrossFit community and Zanesville.

Everything for the workout has been donated by the community, Wolfe said.

CrossFit Contour, 300 Sunrise Center Dr., will hold the workout beginning at 11:35 a.m., the time of Hopper’s death. Participants are encouraged to arrive by 11 a.m.

The police officers could not find a workout for Hopper, so they made one in her honor.

“Every time I write a workout for someone that doesn’t have one, I like to tie it back to something significant to give it more meaning,” Wolfe said.

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The workout will consist of four rounds of time in honor of Hopper’s four children that were left behind when she died. The rounds will include 12 deadlifts for Clark County being the 12th county, 40 wall balls for the age when she died and her final call code, and a 69-calorie row in honor of her badge number. After the participant does four sets, they will finish with a 1600-meter run to represent the number of cars in her funeral procession.

The workout will be hard, but fitness level does not matter, Wolfe explained. They care about the participant just trying to do the workout and giving the workout “all they got.”

“These workouts are designed to be hard because they’re honoring someone that has given their life,” Wolfe said. “There’s always a point in these workouts when you are not sure how far you can go. But all you have to do, is think about why you are doing it. Think about who you are doing it for.”

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