FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Fayetteville Police Department’s recent relocation came with a surprise to celebrate the life of the late Officer Stephen Carr who was killed in the line of duty.

A bronze statue of Officer Carr sitting on a bench will welcome visitors to the recently opened $36.9 million headquarters. The funds for the department were passed in a 2019 bond issue.

The statue depicts Officer Carr and his dog, Red. Officer Carr rescued Red while working on Dickson Street.

“The owner of the dog was taken into custody and they couldn’t take this dog and I was barking, snapping and everybody wouldn’t come to anybody except for Steven. And later on, the dog was removed from this person, went to the I guess the SPCA here and he adopted the dog at a later time,” said Paul Carr, Officer Stephen Carr’s father.

Paul Carr and the Carr family were on hand when the statue was unveiled.

“First time we actually saw it, obviously, and it’s very emotional to see it because you think of him,” said Paul Carr, “it just shows, really how big of a heart he had, a part of his personality.”

Carr says it means so much to see how much love and support they’ve been receiving from the community and the Fayetteville Police Department.

The statue design serves as a reminder of who Officer Carr was on and off the clock.

“As the police chief, back at Steven’s funeral on December 12th of 2019, I made a promise. I made a vow to the community and to the family that we would never forget Stephen Carr,” said Mike Reynolds, Chief of Police for the Fayetteville Police Department.

Officer Carr was killed in December 2019 while he sat behind the police station after a suspect approached the driver’s side of his vehicle and shot him in the head.

The new building is located at 1800 N. Stephen Carr Memorial Boulevard.

The original facility was located at 100 W. Rock Street in downtown Fayetteville and was operating there since July 1993.