CANFIELD — The death of a local state trooper has sent a wave of grief throughout the Mahoning Valley and local law enforcement. 

“The loss of a trooper touches every department, every partner agency and every Ohioan whose lives are made safer through their service,” the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Department wrote in a Facebook post. “Today, we stand united in grief and gratitude for the life and legacy of Trooper Cayton.”

Trooper Nicholas Cayton was killed Thursday in a crash on State Route 11 in Canfield. Cayton was sitting in his cruiser with his emergency lights on when a truck crashed into the back of the vehicle, causing it to go forward into the back of the disabled tractor-trailer he had pulled over to assist. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Following his death, many law enforcement and emergency services departments expressed their grief and condolences online, ranging from local officers to other Ohio police departments and out-of-state departments. 

“When one of us goes, it doesn't matter which agency they're from, it's a loss felt by all of us,” said TJ Assion, vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio. 

Assion told 21 News the number of police officers hurt or killed recently has weighed on him. 

“This is not what anybody in our profession signed up for. We signed up to help people. We signed up to serve the public. … We certainly did not sign up to be shot at, to be spit on, to be murdered and to lose our lives in horrible accidents like what happened yesterday,” Assion said. 

“These incidents and tragedies involving law enforcement are becoming far too common, and each one of them is just as devastating as the next,” he added.

Non-law enforcement members of the community are also speaking out, including some that knew Cayton personally. The Youngstown Phantoms hockey team is wearing special helmet stickers in the fallen trooper’s honor this weekend. The Steel Valley Pipes and Drums, a police- and fire-themed bagpipe group of which Cayton was a founding member, also shared a tribute on social media. 

“Nick was more than just a trooper, he was a friend, a brother in service, a father and a founding member of the Steel Valley Pipes and Drums,” the post read. “His dedication to public safety and his passion for honoring tradition through music touched countless lives across our community and beyond.”

In an additional statement to 21 News, the Steel Valley Pipes and Drums said Cayton "was full of love, humor and joy." The group said he was also a piper with the Ohio State Highway Patrol Pipe Band. 

"Alongside his fellow bandmates, he traveled throughout Ohio to answer the call of piping a fallen hero home," read the statement. "It was a duty he took to heart and something he gave countless hours of his personal time to, out of respect and love for his fellow officers."

A GoFundMe page for Cayton’s family had raised more than $50,000 by Friday evening. The Brew Lounge Beer Company also plans to donate 10% of their sales and all donations during their Saturday night Becky Kimble concert to his family. 

White House Fruit Farm has also planned a fundraiser for the family on Saturday afternoon from 12-3. 

Jane MacMurchy of Animal Charity of Ohio said her organization cancelled its Fall Community Day Saturday so that staff and volunteers, some of whom knew Cayton personally, could attend the White House Fruit Farm fundraiser. 

“As great as our need is for animals, this is not the time,” MacMurchy said. “This is the time to send our condolences and our thoughts to his family.”

MacMurchy said she did not know Cayton herself, but “what I've heard is that he was a stand-up trooper, that he was amazing at his job and he loved serving his community, and he will for sure be missed by a lot of people.”