Annual 5k run/walk honors fallen officer Christopher Lawton

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Dozens of runners hit the pavement for one purpose, to remember former Zachary police officer and firefighter, Christopher Lawton.

The runners came together Sunday night to honor the fallen police officer with a 5k walk/run.

“The park is full tonight, so hopefully these children will ask questions on why these people are running with blue and red lights on, why they’re running with flags and maybe it’ll make sense to them,” said Jordan Charlet.

Lawton was killed in March of 2018 while trying to serve a warrant to Albert Franklin. He was working undercover in a Walmart parking lot.

In October 2022, Franklin was found guilty of manslaughter.

Lawton is no longer here, but his legacy lives on.

“I was a cop. We didn’t even talk about cop stuff. I knew he was a fireman. I knew he taught Sunday school, but he kept it very separate as a lot of first responders do because they don’t want to bring that drama home,” said Scott, a longtime friend.

Runners hope this walk will encourage people to remember Lawton’s name and the service he selflessly provided to the Zachary community.

“There’s a lot of fallen heroes in our country and we just need to take time and reflect,” said Brandy Westmoreland, a friend.

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