End of Watch: 08/15/2008
Agency: Ellensburg Police Department
County: Kittitas County
Sgt. Nelson Ng was born in Arizona, and moved to Washington state to attend Central Washington University. He always found joy in helping others, and was known as a servant leader among his peers. Nelson became interested in police work through the WSP Explorers program in high school, and was part of the CWU campus police before he transferred to the Ellensburg Police Department in 1997. There, his pursuit of excellence was reflected in his service as a recruiter, field-training officer, translator, hostage negotiator, less-lethal instructor, and firearms instructor. He was also training to join EPD’s rapid response tactical team.
Nelson married his college sweetheart, and together they raised their daughter who was born a few years later. He was intentional during his time with her, teaching her strength, and writing her a family ethos: No panicking. Do not let the fear control you. Never leave a friend behind. Stay in the fight. Pull yourself together and get it done. Nelson’s faith was a source of great strength and guidance in his daily life, which he also modeled for his family. His favorite verse was Psalm 144:1 “Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.”
On June 1, 2008, Nelson was promoted to a sergeant at EPD (113). Weeks later, Sergeant Ng contracted hantavirus pulmonary syndrome as a result of infected mouse droppings at the department training center. As the agency’s training officer, he had spent a significant amount of time at the training center where the droppings were found. Health inspectors searched Ng’s home, his parents’ home, and the department training center for traces of the virus and only found it present at the training center. He passed away August 15, 2008.
Sergeant Ng served the Ellensburg Police Department for 11 years, and was posthumously named Officer of the Year for his work creating a safety plan for each school in the Ellensburg School District. He is preceded in death by his sister, and survived by his wife and daughter