It has been five years since Tecumseh Patrolman Justin Terney was killed in the line of duty. On March 27, 2017, he was on a traffic stop near Gordon Cooper Drive and Benson Park Road when the driver fled on foot, according to www.odmp.org. After Terney tazed the subject, the man shot Terney, and the officer returned fire. Terney later died at a hospital from his wounds.
At 22, Terney was a rookie at Tecumseh Police Department and had only worked there for one year. It was his goal to become a K-9 officer, and he bought a Belgian Malinois puppy named Onyx, according to https://apbweb.com. Onyx was later trained by members of the Shawnee Police K-9 Unit and now works for the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Department.
Later in 2017, his shift partner Jesse McCord organized the Justin Terney Memorial Poker Run, keeping his friend’s memory alive.
“I knew Justin very well. … I was a sergeant, and he was a patrol officer,” said McCord. “Justin was full of life and loved being a police officer.”
“If Justin was not working, he was hunting or fishing. If Justin didn’t go back home on his days off to see his mom and dad, he was at my house hanging out with me and my wife and our granddaughter.”
“Justin was a big Trump supporter and loved to have fun conversations with anyone about how great Trump was. Justin loved to go back home and go arrowhead hunting on the banks of lakes and streams. There is so much more I could tell you about Justin …”
Now a Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s deputy, McCord said they welcome motorcyclists, as well as drivers of other vehicles, to participate in the poker run, since “not everyone Justin knew rode (a) motorcycle.”
For the event in its sixth year, participants will register on Sat., July 23, at 10 am at the Pottawatomie County Courthouse in Shawnee, and they will travel to VFW Post 1317 at 811 E. MacArthur Street. McCord said the route changes every year to keep it interesting.
Entry for single-rider motorcycles is $20, with $5 per additional passenger. For other vehicles, the fee is $25.
There will be free doughnuts at the first stop, and the last stop will have raffles, door prizes, a live auction with 15-20 donated items, a 50/50 drawing, and the Hank’s K3wl Cooking food truck, according to the Visit Shawnee website.
All proceeds go toward the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Department K-9 Program and two K-9 Scholarships for Tecumseh High School seniors, in memory of Terney This year, the scholarships went to Tyler Sampson and Lillian Effinger.
The poker run is sponsored by Ride Oklahoma Charities and Ma Beasley’s Daylight Donuts.
“This event gets bigger each year,” said McCord. “Even when the pandemic in 2020 hit (with) COVID, we lost a few riders, but it was still a very successful poker run. The run normally has in the area of 80-120 registered riders or drivers.”
