PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — It has taken Karen Shuey four years to get here.
"I fought so hard for this,” she said.
On Friday, her late husband's name was added to the first responders memorial wall in Pierce County. In 2020, Pierce County Deputy Daryl Shuey was moving heavy bags of garbage from a stolen car, when he suffered a heart attack and died.
But the county didn't immediately recognize Shuey's death as line-of-duty.
"For four years we've been laying flowers on a storm drain in a Pizza Hut parking lot because there was nowhere for us to go,” Karen Shuey said.
Shuey's name has already been engraved at the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Spokane and his name was added to the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The Department of Justice also recognized Shuey as dying in the line of duty, under the Hometown Heroes Act, which qualified his family for federal death benefits.
Despite all that, Pierce County followed different guidelines. Until Karen Shuey got support from the police chiefs and sheriff's association. The county executive made an exception.
“This means everything to me,” Karen Shuey said. “My husband was born and raised here in this county."
But there's one more hurdle to jump.
Shuey's name is still not etched into the state memorial in Olympia — and there are no plans to put it there yet.
Behind the Badge is the organization that makes that call, with their own specific criteria. In a previous statement to KING 5, the foundation said it is "deeply saddened by Mrs. Shuey's loss," and "While not all deceased officers qualify to be listed on the Memorial, we recognize and appreciate their service."
Behind the Badge's criteria says if an officer dies of a heart attack it is considered a line-of-duty death if they were performing a stressful or strenuous activity that isn't considered routine.
"The state pays me lifetime line of duty death benefits, but he's not allowed to be memorialized on their wall,” Karen Shuey said. “The two just do not align."
For now, she said she’s grateful the county finally recognized his service, and hopes Behind the Badge will have a change of heart.