Memorial honors legacy of fallen member of Milan Police Department

MILAN, Tenn. — One community and police department is remembering a lieutenant who passed away nearly two years ago.

On May 3, 2023, Detective Lieutenant Kelvin Whitney suffered a fatal injury while making repairs on his home. He worked for the Milan Police Department. Tuesday, we were able to speak with Lt. Whitney’s wife about who he was as a person.

“He was an awesome person. He could do anything. He could fix anything. He was an awesome man,” said Sheri Whitney, wife of Detective Lt. Whitney.

Now, outside of the city of Milan’s Public Safety Complex, sits the memorial in honor of lieutenant Whitney.

We were able to talk to his wife about what this means and why it’s out here.

“Kelvin always loved that picture that’s on it. He loved that picture. I thought that would be perfect. Something that’s out here. I want the police department to keep his memory alive. For it to be somewhere that they can tell stories — think about him and his work here,” said Sheri.

We were also able to speak with the Milan Police Department Chief Bobby Sellars about what it means to have this memorial outside of their building.

“A lot of people in this town miss Kelvin. Not just in the police department, but people that are citizens or business owners. They miss him. They tell me often how they do miss him and wish he was still around. So we got this in front of the building now and when people come in it will make them think about a police officer or him specifically,” said Chief Sellars.

Lieutenant Whitney worked for the Milan Police Department for 17 years. His wife told us he loved every single part of his job and he loved his community.

Sheri says she is thankful for the Milan Police Department and that they are family to her.

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