DELAWARE — The Delaware State Police have announced that they will honor the service and sacrifice of Corporal Dennis F. Kelly by adding his name to several law enforcement memorials.
On May 20, 1984, while conducting routine helicopter takeoff and landing exercises at Sussex County Municipal Airport in Georgetown, Cpl. Kelly and his partner, Cpl. Thomas W. Robbins, were involved in a crash. Cpl. Robbins sustained non-life-threatening injuries, but Cpl. Kelly suffered a broken neck and spinal cord injury, resulting in quadriplegia said DSP.
While he would survive the crash, Cpl. Kelly, never fully recovered from his injuries. He lived with the enduring effects of the crash for four decades before succumbing to complications from those injuries on December 21, 2024, at age 69.
“Dennis felt privileged to be part of the Delaware State Police family,” stated Mrs. Paula Kelly, wife of Cpl. Dennis Kelly. “A guy who never considered himself lucky thought he hit the lottery when he joined the Aviation Section—getting paid to do what he loved. I know he would be humbled and honored by this acknowledgment of his helicopter accident and the life he lived over the past 40 years.”
In May, Cpl. Kelly’s name will be formally added to both the Delaware State Police Memorial, located at DSP Headquarters in Dover, and the Delaware Law Enforcement Memorial on Legislative Mall. Currently, there are 23 troopers honored on the DSP Memorial. Cpl. Kelly will be the 24th trooper recognized for making the ultimate sacrifice. In May 2026, his name will also be added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.
“Corporal Kelly’s resilience in the face of life-changing injuries and his decades-long struggle to live with honor reflects the very essence of what it means to wear this uniform,” stated Colonel William D. Crotty, Superintendent of the Delaware State Police. “His name will now be etched alongside our fallen heroes, where it rightfully belongs.”
The Delaware State Police have extended their deepest sympathies to Cpl. Kelly’s family, friends, and fellow troopers.