Grand Chute, Wis. (WFRV) – An annual ceremony to honor fallen police officers hit closer to home this year for the city of Grand Chute.

Each year the police department there holds a candlelight vigil during National Police Week to remember all the police officers who died in the line of duty the previous year.

Unfortunately this year, the Grand Chute Police Department lost one of their own. Officer Steven Nothem was killed while serving as a police officer in the Dallas suburbs last fall. A car hit him on the highway while he responded to a drunk driving call.

“He always looked up to me I was his bigger brother but at the end of the day,I was looking up to him he was the one who mattered and he is my hero,” said Steven’s brother Kyle.

“Steven was an amazing gentleman, he always had a smile on his face, could always light up a room,” said Grand Chute community resource officer Dylan Davis.

At the ceremony, Grand Chute police officers read off the names of each officer who was killed in 2022. They spent extra time pausing in silent reflection after reading Nothem’s name.

Nothem’s father Steve was the keynote speaker at the ceremony.

“Their sacrifice and the sacrifice of their families will always be remembered, may they rest in peace, may their families, may our families find solace in our grief,” said Steven Nothem Sr.

Nothem’s family members wore shirts bearing his name and badge number on the back and the Captain America logo on the front. They tell Local Five News that was Steven”s favorite superhero. They also brought teddy bears sewn out of Steven’s old military uniforms.

According to the officer down memorial page, 246 officers were killed in the line of duty in 2022.