Yarmouth Police hold 5K in honor of Sgt. Sean Gannon

YARMOUTH, Mass. — A local police department remembered Yarmouth Police Sergeant Sean Gannon more than a year after he was shot and killed while serving a warrant in April 2018.

On Sunday runners and walkers flooded the cape for an annual 5k that has now been renamed in Sgt. Gannon's honor. More than 1,000 runners hit the streets for the 12th annual YPD Blue K9 Sgt. Sean Gannon Memorial 5K.

"We keep turning the page, but never forgetting when we do so because there's a lot of healing that's taken place over the last year," said Yarmouth Police Chief Frank Fredrickson.

The annual race was near and dear to Gannon's heart. The 32-year-old sergeant was last year's race director before he died just a month before the race.

RELATED: WATCH: Yarmouth police honor Sgt. Sean Gannon in moving video

"It has been quite a year of events, but today is a happy day," said Denise Gannon, Sgt. Gannon's mother. "Today is a run for a reason, we are very proud it's in honor of Sean."

This year's race also honored and benefited the families of two other Massachusetts first responders, who gave the ultimate sacrifice: forty-two-year-old Weymouth police Sgt. Michael Chesna, who was shot and killed in the line of duty last July, and Worcester firefighter Christopher Roy, who died while battling a fire last December.

"It's a way for both us, the police department, and the town of Yarmouth, our community, to recognize first responders in Massachusetts who paid the ultimate sacrifice," said Lt. Mike Bryant of Yarmouth Police.

Organizers tell us they were hoping to raise about $30,000 from Sunday's 5k.

Cox Media Group