(LaPorte County, IN) - Three area students have earned scholarships in honor of a fallen LaPorte County police officer.

The Neil Thompson Memorial Scholarship is awarded every year through the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department. Thompson died in the line of duty in 1980.

This year’s recipients are Roziland McCoy and Ryin Ott, both 2021 LaPorte High School graduates, and Kaylee Smythe, a 2021 graduate of South Central High School.

The students were presented with the scholarships at the La Porte County Sheriff’s Merit Board August meeting.