Officer recalls Officer Long's death

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - A Terre Haute Police Officer who was fatally shot in the line of duty is remembered Tuesday by a colleague nearly one year after the incident.

On July 11th 2011 one of Terre Haute's finest died.

K-9 Officer Brent Long had been shot; many officers heard the call over the radio, officer down and raced to the scene.

Emergency responders from all over responded; Indiana State Police Sergeant Joe Watts was one of them.

Watts says, "I see all the police cars, I get out and I start going towards the house and see what needs to be done. Then I see the concern looks on everyone's face and then I knew it was bad."

Officer Long was shot after police tried to serve a warrant on Shaun Seeley.

Watts jumped into action as did fellow officers that day, to save Long's life.

Watts says, "You never forget your skills, you always want to help someone and you always want to help another policemen but you know when it's all said and done and they've transported him away and you realize what you did and what you tried to do and what all of us tried to do. We really tried to help him and we couldn't. Probably most heart breaking thing.”

"And then you think, you know he had a wife, kids and his mother his father. I just remember thinking, its changing people’s lives. I mean it hurts badly enough on our end and we go home at night and our families are there. He's not going to go home and it’s going to change his family’s lives forever. That's the first thing I thought of,” said Watts.

According to Officer Long’s family; On July 11th 2011, K-9 Officer Brent Long died doing what he loved.

That day changed lives across the board as the Wabash Valley community stepped up to show compassion and support to those who give there all.

"They said thanks for what you do and when you're a policeman it means a lot, that's what we do, we work for you,” said Watts.

Watts says "It's been a year and it never goes away,” it’s a day that many will never forget.