Gov. Mark Dayton ordered all United States flags and Minnesota flags to be flown at half-staff at all state and federal buildings on Thursday in honor and remembrance of a Wayzata police officer who was killed in the line of duty.
Officer William Mathews was struck by a car while clearing a traffic hazard Sept. 8 on U.S. 12. Mathews, 47, spent seven years with the Wayzata Police Department and was a licensed peace officer since 1998. Mathews was described as a family man — a devoted father to his son and a loving husband.
Dayton attended a celebration of Mathews’ life Thursday at Wayzata Free Church in Plymouth, the city where Mathews lived. The officer was to be buried at Summit Park Cemetery in Plymouth.
Two processions were scheduled after the service: one involving hundreds of law enforcement and public safety agencies, and another for Wayzata law enforcement, the Wayzata fire department, Long Lake Fire Department, Mathews and his family.
The driver who struck Mathews, Beth Ilene Freeman, 54, of Mound, was charged with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide and a count of driving after license cancellation. She admitted to using her phone while driving in the criminal complaint and was believed to be impaired based on a drug-recognition expert’s sobriety tests at the scene. She appeared in court on Tuesday where her bail was set at $500,000.