‘Make him proud’: Memorial 5K aims to keep Concord police officer’s legacy alive

CONCORD, N.C — Concord Police Officer Jason Shuping was shot and killed in the line of duty back in 2020, now his wife and fellow officers have a new way to keep his legacy and support for law enforcement alive.

Channel 9′s Hannah Goetz was the first to speak with loved ones about the Officer Jason Shuping Memorial 5K.

“He wanted to be a police officer,” Haylee Shuping, Jason’s wife, told Goetz. “He had never saw himself doing anything else but law enforcement.”

Haylee says her late husband wanted nothing more than to serve and protect his community.

In December of 2020, Shuping was protecting the people in Concord when he was shot and killed by a carjacker.

He was just 25 years old.

“We were high school and college sweethearts. We were together for nearly nine years,” Haylee said.

Nearly four years later, Jason’s death will never get easier, but Haylee has gotten much stronger.

“I try to do a lot to sort of, you know, reinvent myself and to live in Jason’s legacy,” Haylee said.

She has gone back to school, started a scholarship fund, advocated for law enforcement in Washington D.C., and she is now a board member for the Concord Police Foundation.

Haylee says she’s determined to support officers and their families while bringing the community together.

Now, everyone has a chance to support that mission with the inaugural 5K on Nov. 16.

“I was just absolutely all for it because I know just how much running has really impacted my life and my journey through grief,” Haylee said.

She’s not doing it alone. Sgt. Julia Soares pitched the idea of the 5K after running helped her with Jason’s death as well.

“After Jason’s passing, I had a really hard time,” Soares told Goetz. “I started to run.”

Just like their grief journeys, they’ll put one foot in front of the other with more than 200 other people to keep Jason’s legacy alive.

“The one thing I know about Jason, he was big on community, so this is just a perfect way to honor him,” Soares said.

It’s happening on the weekend of what would have been Jason’s 29th birthday. He’ll once again be celebrated.

If you would like to run in the Officer Jason Shuping Memorial 5K, or if you’d like to support them, click this link.

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