Montco Hero, Officer Brad Fox, Remembered 7 Years After His Death

PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, PA — The years go on, but the memory of a Montgomery County hero will live on forever.

It's now been seven years since Plymouth Township's Officer Brad Fox was tragically killed after responding to a hit and run on Ridge Pike on Sept. 13, 2012.

"We shall never forget the sacrifice made that day by our beloved Officer Brad Fox," the department said in a statement issued on Friday morning. "He lives on in our hearts and deeds, now and forever."

The evidence of that is everywhere. Fresh flowers adorn Fox's memorial, located on the Schuylkill River Trail, throughout the year. And numerous goings-on throughout the year carry the memory of the man who touched so many. Tributes from all over southeastern Pennsylvania poured in Friday to commemorate the United States Marine, husband, and father.

Just recently last week, the Officer Brad Fox Foundation presented the Warrington Township Police Department K-9 unit with a $10,000 check from proceeds that were raised at their most recent Brad Fox Day in 2019.

All told, the Foundation has donated more than $300,000 in his name — "and we're not finished yet," they noted in a social media post Thursday.

The Foundation also organizes other events which carry on Fox's legacy, including a second scholarship (at Archbishop Wood High School), and raising money for Alpha Bravo Canine. In addition to Warrington, the Warminster police K-9 unit has also benefited from the Foundation.

Back in Sept. 2012, Fox was 34-years-old. He was a seven-year veteran of the force. He was serving with his K9 unit that day when he responded to the call at around 6 p.m.

He pursued the suspect to the vicinity of Conshohocken Road and Ernest Station Road, near the Schuylkill River Trail, when the suspect shot him in the head and killed him. Fox' canine partner, Nick, was shot and wounded, but survived. The suspect was later killed.
Fox, a Warminster native and graduate of William Tennent High School, joined the Marine Corps in 1999 and was honorably discharged as a Staff Sgt. in 2009 after 10 years of service and two tours in Iraq.

Fox was remembered not just as an exemplary officer, Marine, and public servant, but as a devoted and loving father and husband. Hundreds packed the church to capacity at his funeral service, and hundreds more packed into an adjoining lot to pay their respects.

"Your children will forever know the type of man you were," Fox's widow, Lynsay, wrote in a note that was read at his service. "They will always know who their Daddy is, and how amazing you were as a husband, father, friend, son, brother, Marine, and police officer. We all know your legacy will carry on through your children."

And as the flowered memorial on the Schuylkill River Trail illustrates seven years later, Fox, and the lessons he embodied in the way he chose to live his life, will never be forgotten.

A fund has been set up for Fox's family. Donations can be made to the Fox's Children's Fund, C/O Continental Bank, 661 W. Germantown Pike, Plymouth Meeting, PA, 19462. To learn more about Fox and to share memories, see here.