MOUNT VERNON — The community turned out to say farewell to Dennis Foster on Tuesday. Foster, a former Knox County sheriff’s deputy and detective for the Mount Vernon Police Department, died Friday.
“I first met Denny Foster when I was a senior in high school and I was a law enforcement explorer. He was a patrolman for Mount Vernon [Police Department] and I used to ride with him on day shift,” said Knox County Sheriff David Barber. “His career with the Mount Vernon Police Department and mine, after I started in law enforcement, our career paths kind of paralleled each other. And we became detectives about the same time.
“We worked a lot of cases together, for about 10 years, when he was a city detective and I was a county detective. We specialized in the investigation of child sexual abuse cases. I truly believe that both Denny and myself were called to law enforcement.
“Denny and I remained very close friends for over 20 years. We worked a lot of serious cases together when he was still with the city, and then he retired from Mount Vernon in Dec. of ’93, not to get out of law enforcement but pretty much to come to work for the sheriff’s office as the second in command and the head of my detective division.”
Foster began his career with the sheriff’s department in January 1994.
“During the 13 years he was second in command, it brought Denny and myself even closer, not just as friends but professionally as well,” said Barber. “Yesterday was a very difficult day for me, and for the entire office. Anybody that knew Denny, particularly the last eight years during his battle with cancer — he truly was an inspiration for other people, not just as a law enforcement officer but as a good Christian and a good human being.”
