In 2014, Royals honored slain Clinton officer Christopher Morton for military service

The Clinton, Mo., police officer who was killed in the line of duty on Tuesday night was honored by the Royals in 2014 for his military service in Afghanistan.

Officer Christopher Morton, 30, was killed while responding to a 911 call, was in the Our Heroes seats (now called the Salute to Service seats) on June 5, 2014 at Kauffman Stadium.

Morton was in the Army National Guard, had been twice deployed and returned in May 2014 from Afghanistan. He told the Royals he served as a bridge crew member and radio communications manager.

Pitcher Jeremy Guthrie posed for a photo and signed an autographed ball for Morton that night. Morton presented Guthrie with a U.S. flag that was flown in Kandahar during his deployment.

The Royals tweeted: "We are saddened to hear the news regarding Clinton, Mo Police Officer Chris Morton this morning. He was honored for his military service at #TheK in 2014. Our thoughts are with his family today."

Guthrie tweeted this after meeting with Morton that night:

This story was originally published March 7, 2018 at 9:30 AM with the headline "In 2014, Royals honored slain Clinton officer Christopher Morton for military service."