Elizabeth Snyder, the widow of a St. Louis County police officer, Blake Snyder, who was tragically murdered in the line of duty in 2016, has spoken out in defense of law enforcement, calling America’s officers “selfless and loyal” and says attacks against them need to stop.
Before he died, Blake Snyder filled his Facebook page with pictures of his child with Elizabeth in police regalia and posted a memorial picture of a slain Memphis officer that included a powerful and now even more poignant phrase: “I matter.” Snyder, 33, was a four-year veteran of the St. Louis County Police Department who was gunned down while responding to a disturbance call, police said. Police said he was shot “pointblank,” immediately after exiting his squad car. Lauded as a hero, he left behind a young family.
His wife previously attended Donald Trump’s address to Congress. Snyder was invited to the address by two Republicans in Congress. She has also spoken out publicly about the death penalty, expressing anger when prosecutors opted not to seek it in the death of her husband. There was a GoFundMe page by a local Eagle Scout to help fund a memorial in Blake Snyder’s honor as the community rallied around preserving the young deputy’s memory. If you want to donate to help the officer’s family, the Police Department has recommended doing so through Backstoppers.
Here’s what you need to know about Elizabeth Snyder, her late husband, and how she found herself attending a speech by the president of the United States.
1. Elizabeth Snyder Says Believing That ‘God Does Have a Plan’ Has Been a Comfort to Her
Blake Snyder was shot and killed on October 6, 2016 while responding to a distress call in St. Louis. Police said at the time that he was shot pointblank immediately upon exiting his vehicle.
The suspect was later identified as 18-year-old Trenton Forster, who had made numerous explicit anti-police posts on his social media pages. He also tweeted in August 2016, “I’ma kill em all, just watch.”
Forster plead not guilty. His trial date has been set for February 2019, and prosecutors have announced that they are not seeking the death penalty. The decision outraged Elizabeth Snyder, who told the St. Louis Dispatch, “What message is being sent to society, to law enforcement and criminals by not seeking the death penalty? It’s saying police officers’ lives are cheap and unimportant and don’t matter.” Prosecutors did not provide details about that decision.
Elizabeth told KMOV-TV, “I say an eye for an eye and justice needs to be served. If you’re in the right mind and you’re going to plan to kill someone and then you go do it, I believe that you deserve the same.”
In the months since her husband’s death, Elizabeth Snyder has said that it’s difficult to understand why Blake was taken from her but that she believes that God has a plan.
“…It’s been very hard not to be angry at God, and some people sadly don’t understand that, but it’s just really hard to understand why,” she said during a Facebook Live chat. “A lot of people keep telling me, ‘Oh, it’s all in God’s plan,’ and it kind of goes in one ear and comes out the other in the moment, but when you really think back on it, God does have a plan, and I’m understanding it now.”
She went on to say, “You know how many lives Blake’s life has touched since he was taken – it’s just enormously overwhelming. He has touched so many lives. So I am choosing to believe that God is reaching other people through Blake’s death, no matter how hard it is.”
A year after her husband died, Elizabeth posted this heartbreaking note on Facebook:
One year ago…
I was awakened shortly after 5am to a phone call from my brother. Why would Justin be calling me so early? It hadn’t clicked yet. All he said was, ‘Elizabeth, you need to get yourself up and get Malachi ready to leave because I’m on my way to pick you up. Something’s happened to Blake.’ It still hadn’t registered in my brain that something serious was going on.
Ok, ok. Put some clothes on. Put my hair up. Packed the diaper bag. Then it hit me. Call Justin back. ‘What happened to him? Tell me, Justin. Tell me right now.’ He wouldn’t. So I just figured Blake was injured. That was it.
I will NEVER forget that ride. Racing down 270 at 120mph, practically flying. And then Justin gets a call as we are pulling up to the hospital. And I could see it on his face. My love, my closest friend, my confidant- was gone. Just like that. Shock took over my body. That day is still a haze. I remember seeing him, not being able to touch him because of the crime that was committed. I didn’t even get to hold his hand one last time. I didn’t get to kiss him, or hug him. Or be close to him. He was taken away from me, and all I could do was cry.
Today marks one year since the worst day of my life. And I feel like it was yesterday. As I go over that day in my mind, all I can think is- if there was less hate in this world, maybe he would still be alive. If there was more compassion and understanding in this life, maybe he would still be alive. I don’t think I’ll ever fully understand why God allowed this to happen. Maybe when I reach Heaven, I’ll know. But by then it won’t matter, because I’ll get to hug him again. We will laugh together again. And I can hold him again. But until then, I’ll be patient. I’ll be strong. And I will continue his legacy by raising Malachi in the way he would have wanted. We will make it. We will.
You can learn more about Blake Snyder here:
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2. Elizabeth Says the Couple’s Child Is Giving Her Hope
Elizabeth Snyder has a toddler son, Malachi, with Blake Snyder, whom she calls Chi.
In a Facebook post 10 days after Blake’s death, Elizabeth said that Malachi was the only thing that was giving her hope.
“This pain that hasn’t subsided, that hasn’t alleviated, is unbearable and unending,” she wrote. “But this child here – he has been the hope in my heartache. He is the reason I get up each day. The reason I keep it together as best I can. The reason I push through.”
She went on to say that Malachi has been more “cuddly and more attached than ever before” since Blake’s death. After her husband died, Elizabeth Snyder brought home a pet dog, Hank. This came after her 15-year-old dog Annie died in early November.
Snyder said in an interview with KMOV that her son is “very stubborn like his father. Which is funny because Blake was a very stubborn man. Very stubborn, very hardheaded, in a good way, but Malachi is exactly the same way, exactly.”
The former St. Louis County police chief remembered Snyder as a family man of faith with a kind heart, echoing themes from others who knew him.
Fox 2 St. Louis said that Snyder was a board member at Riverbend Family Ministries where he “helped to provide a safe place to go for the children of families in crisis.”
3. She Has Spoken Out About Issues Concerning Law Enforcement on Social Media
In the months following Blake’s death, Elizabeth Snyder has been active on social media sharing updates about her life and talking about issues concerning law enforcement, specifically saying that police officers are unfairly demonized by much of American society and that they do not get the appreciation they deserve.
During one Facebook Live chat, Snyder shared a story of being contacted by a stranger who said that they did not have a positive outlook on police officers until hearing Snyder’s stories of Blake.
“That is the kind of thing that makes me want to keep posting, keep telling people how amazing our officers are and what they go through and what they actually deserve from the public,” Snyder said. “That’s what makes me want to keep talking about it. Because they don’t have a voice. During a time when our officers are literally under fire from bad people, I can help be that voice for them.”
In a post shared not long after the death of another police officer, Snyder said, “…[T]hese ambushes and these targeted attacks need to stop. These men and women in blue have spouses, children, FAMILIES. My eyes fill with tears for those who give everything to keep us safe and happy. There is so much hatred and cruelty in this sad sad world and I truly wish I could make it disappear. They EXIST for us. They do what they do FOR US. To be a law enforcement officer is to be selfless and loyal. If you cannot see that, then I am sad for you.”
Snyder rarely posts about political issues, although she has shared a few videos of conservative commentator Tomi Lahren speaking in support of law enforcement. Snyder also criticized Democratic Representative Lacy Clay for his decision in January to put up a painting in the U.S. Capitol that depicts St. Louis police officers as pigs.
“For it to be hung in a Capitol building where officers are outside guarding the door, it’s unbelievable,” she said on Facebook. “It’s spitting in the face of law enforcement.”
Specifically referencing Clay, Snyder added, “Where is he whenever he goes out to a public event, who’s guarding him? Who’s protecting him? Law enforcement. So for you to actually be supporting that this be put up in the Capitol building is not right.”
4. Elizabeth Snyder Comes From a Law Enforcement Family
St. Louis Today said Snyder’s father-in-law and brother-in-law were both police officers.
Snyder became a police officer because his father-in-law, Mike Sparks, was a police officer who died of cancer, Fox 2 reports.
According to Fox 2 Now St. Louis, Snyder “was a part of the community at Destiny Church in West County,” and he met his wife, Elizabeth, through that church community.
Many of his Facebook posts revolved around his boy, including pictures of the child as an infant surrounded by police regalia, such as a hat, belt, and handcuffs, and even wearing a police onesie. Snyder’s Facebook page says he is from Godfrey, Illinois.
Elizabeth Snyder was invited to President Trump’s congressional address by Republicans Ann Wagner and Rodney Davis, both of whom represent Missouri in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Ann Wagner was one of many elected Republicans who opposed Donald Trump throughout the Republican presidential primaries, but she endorsed him in September 2016. In October, following the release of a tape on which Trump talks about groping women, Wagner withdrew her endorsement of Trump and called on him to drop out of the race entirely. In early November, she said she would still be voting for Trump on Election Day.
Rodney Davis also endorsed Trump and also withdrew his endorsement after the leaked Access Hollywood tape in October 2016.
“With the terrible options America has right now, I cannot cast my vote for any of the candidates, so I hope Donald Trump withdraws from the race so the American people can elect Mike Pence as our next president,” Davis said at the time.
5. Snyder Said She Was Honored to Attend the Trump Address to Congress
In a recent Facebook post, Snyder says that she is honored to have been invited to the Congressional address and that she looks forward to hearing what Trump has to say about issues concerning law enforcement.
“I’m completely honored and cannot wait to hear what our President has in store, especially for Law Enforcement,” she said. “I encourage everyone to watch it live as it will be televised next Tuesday evening.”
In January, after Trump was sworn into office, the White House website was updated with pages dedicated to six key issues the administration wants to focus on. One of those six was “standing up for our law enforcement community.”
“President Trump will honor our men and women in uniform and will support their mission of protecting the public,” the page reads. “The dangerous anti-police atmosphere in America is wrong. The Trump Administration will end it.”