Scholarship honors fallen Cleveland officer

CLEVELAND (AP) — The young daughter of a fallen Cleveland officer has helped present the first college scholarship honoring her father.

Nine-year-old Syndi Owens congratulated Jessica Prowell at a ceremony Sunday and told Prowell to always try her hardest.

The scholarship named for Cleveland Patrolman Derek Owens will pay Prowell’s tuition and fees at the University of Phoenix. When Officer Owens was killed in February 2008, he was just a few months away from completing his course work for an MBA from the University of Phoenix Cleveland campus.

A man convicted in Owens’ shooting death has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Eighteen-year-old Prowell graduated third in her high school class and won an essay contest to earn the scholarship.