LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The City of Louisville honored a fallen Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) detective this past Sunday, Dec. 24. Five years ago, detective Deidre Mengedoht was killed in the line of duty.

People in Louisville gathered outside LMPD's Second Division to remember Mengedoht.

"She did a great job," said Ryan Bates, LMPD lieutenant colonel. "She was very good at not only holding people accountable when they broke the law, but also had a really strong sense of compassion for the community and her service to others."  

According to LMPD, Deidre Mengedoht was hit at a traffic stop Dec. 24, 2018, by an impaired tractor trailer driver. Five years later, family and friends are recovering from their loss.

"It's hard to see how the impact on her family; five years have passed, but it's hard to tell that from seeing people's faces and the impact and the hurt that they still carry from this tragic event," Bates said. 

Loved ones placed flowers on her memorial, and officers performed a moment of silence on their police radios. The 32-year-old was on the force for seven years before she was taken from her job, friends, family and young son.

“From what I saw," said LMPD detective Matthew Swicegood, "the only thing she was more passionate about than helping the people in the Second Division was being a mom and a sister and an aunt, granddaughter and all the other things that she was."

The detective will never be forgotten.

"Obviously, it's a very solemn day for us," Bates said. "Deidre was a very special person. She was a great detective but a better friend to a lot of people here. Like I said, she'll always be remembered. We're very, very sorry for her loss."

Roger Burdette, a former worker for the City of Louisville, was found guilty of driving under the influence of controlled substances and streaming pornography at the time of the crash. He was sentenced to 27 years in prison.