BIG RAPIDS -- Ferris State University will honor a Midland native working as a South Dakota police officer killed last year in the line of duty.

A new scholarship endowment is for students in the Big Rapids school's criminal justice program. It honors 2005 program graduate James Ryan McCandless.

The 28-year-old from Midland died Aug. 2. The Rapid City, S.D., officer was shot during a traffic stop.

His parents, James and Kathy McCandless, created the scholarship with the help of family members and friends who wanted to celebrate the fallen officer's life and service.