At the Candlelight Vigil
The light shows her the way
Dawn Stephens finds the path to remembering her fallen husband,
Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Scott Stephens
n BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
When dusk set in on the National Mall, still a while to go before the Candlelight Vigil would begin at Police Week 2016, a
glow emerged from the second row where survivors of officers
lost in the line of duty sat in the VIP seats. People stopped to
wrap their arms around Dawn Stephens, embraces that turned
her tears into reflecting pools and seemed to make the sunset
focus exclusively on her.
The candles were not all that shed a light on Stephens, a ray
of hope for the Lacey Township dispatcher whose husband,
Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Local 171 member John Scott
Stephens, was killed in a horrific automobile accident on Jan.
21, 2015. The night, the light, the Vigil and all of Police Week put
a collective hug on Dawn and her now 12-year-old son Scotty at
a time when they needed it most.
“Getting here was a little overwhelming, getting escorted in
the way we did,” Dawn began. “It was so ceremonial and so special, it just brings you back almost to the day of the funeral with
the pipes and drums and music.”
Thinking back to that January day understandably brought
tears to Dawn’s eyes. But she realized and conveyed that it is
what the Vigil is for, that is what Police Week is for. Crying is
remembering. Crying is honoring. And with the survivor family
there with a waiting hug, this is certainly the time and the place.
“I had a good cry sitting here,” Dawn admitted as a smile began to creep up on her face. “I am lucky to have my support
here with me. I was able to power through it.”
Part of the support is Scotty, who is looking more and more
every day like Scott, the man described as the one whom all officers in Ocean County wanted to be like. Scotty was well on his
way to following in his dad’s footsteps as a wrestling star – and
probably a football star, too – but he has more recently directed
his efforts to other passions, like the one his dad had for hunting.
Ocean County officers will never forget Scott Stephens, and
they will never forget that Jan. 21 morning when Scott was driving that 2004 Honda Civic, working undercover, when it veered
across the westbound lane on Dover Road in Lacey Township
and crashed into a tree. Scott was left in a coma most figured
he would fight his way out of for two weeks before finally succumbing to the brain injuries.
Dawn was the Lacey Township dispatcher who put out the
call of the vehicle crash, not knowing it was her husband of 16
years driving. That began a journey that has been filled with
many tears, but a growing number of memorable moments and
people who manage to help that smile creep up from time to
time. Many of those people continued to stop her as the Vigil
was getting set to begin.
“Somebody will stop and ask us about Scott because of the
shirts we are wearing with his name on it,” Dawn relates. “We
get to say a little bit about him, the guy he was and the big caring heart he had. We get to still say his name because they do
stuff like this, and that’s what it’s about.” d
Dawn Stephens, second row, second from left, and her son Scotty
sitting on her left, get ready for the Candlelight Vigil.
www.njcopsmagazine.com
■ JUNE 2016 39