FROM JTH..

: I am very sadden to report that we have lost another Officer in the line of duty. On January 28, 2000, at 1334 Hrs (EST) Davidson County Sheriff's Deputy, Todd Cook, 30, was gunned down. Deputy Cook was attempting to serve a warrant for arrest on Christopher Cooper (22) for (Misd) Second-degree Trespassing. Deputy Cook was shot FIVE times in the back and head with a 7.62 mm assault rifle. Even after Deputy Cook was down, Cooper ontinued to fire upon Deputy Cook. After a short manhunt, Davidson County Sheriff's Office Deputy's, North Carolina Highway Patrol and North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles engaged in a chase with Cooper. Cooper rammed two Davidson County cars that setup a road block at over a 100 miles per hour. After the collision, Cooper's vehicle came to rest and he committed suicide with the same assault rifle believed to have been use to gun down Deputy Cook. Four banana clips with almost 150 rounds of ammunition was also found in the vehicle with Cooper. Deputy Todd Cook leaves behind one daughter with downs syndrome whowill turn one year old next Thursday. Deputy Todd Cook also left behind a fiancee. May our thoughts and prayers go out to the Deputy Cook's daughter, fiancee and family. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Message Reads---- From> Biloxi MHP Troop K

We regretfully announce the death of K-13 Trooper E. Paul Denham. Trooper Denham died in an automobile accident while on duty on December 27, 1999, at approximately 1735 hours. 21127 0056 12:0852 12/28/99 More below

Trooper Denham had gone to work at 0600 hours Dec. 27 and had worked a motor vehicle accident with three fatalities where people burned. He had spent all day working the accident and notifying the next of kin. He should have gotten off at 1500 hours but because of this accident had worked over. He was on the way home to his 4-year old daughter's birthday party when he left the roadway, flipped four times I am told and ended in a creek. Passersby tried to get him out but were unable to do so. I have no details if he was still alive or not. We have all worked long hours if you have worked law enforcement. We have all given our best to the job while still trying to give all to our family at the same time. Once in a while someone pays the ultimate price. Please keep this family in your prayers.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thanks, M/SGT Ralph C. Cooper ex C-2 Mississippi Highway Patrol/Retired Troop C, Jackson, MS

Officer John DiNapoli ..We will miss you..and never forget all you have given to all of us..especially your life!

Officer John DiNapoli was an Awesome cop and a wonderful man... who served in our city for 20 years... he responded as back up to a simple call for a disturbance, while approcahing the area of the call he saw this man running from the scene.. when he pulled his unmarked crsuier to the side he was shot at 7 times.. 5 of which hit him in the abdomen and chest before he could even get out of the vehicle, pretty much killing him instantly.... he was a wonderful man and leaves behind a long time love and 2 children... ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thanks, Hawgpin

FROM KNOXVILLE TN

Officer Angie,We will never forget you..You have worked so hard for us and you will always be appreciated in our souls.God chose a very fine Officer to Patrol His Kingdom

Deputy dies after being hit by car

Second officer is seriously injured February 27, 2000

A mother lost her only child and the Knox County Sheriff's Department lost one of its own Saturday when two deputies investigating a shooting were struck by a motorist in Northwest Knox County. Deputy Angela K. Payne, 31, died Saturday from injuries she suffered when she and Deputy Mike Reyda, 33, were struck by a car at 1:41 a.m. on Byington-Beaver Ridge Road. Neither Payne nor Reyda were breathing "on their own" when the deputies arrived at the University of Tennessee Medical Center, Sheriff Tim Hutchison said. Reyda eventually began breathing without a respirator and, though still in critical condition in the intensive-care unit, "has been progressively getting better," Hutchison said. Payne never regained consciousness. She was an only child, and her father is deceased, leaving her mother and her 90-year-old grandmother as her two closest surviving relatives, Hutchison said. Payne's mother was to donate her organs, according to the sheriff. Her friends and fellow officers gathered at the hospital around 6 p.m. Saturday to await word that Payne had been officially pronounced dead. There are procedural delays inherent in cases in which a person is removed from a life-support system and their organs are being donated. Payne's mother remained at her daughter's side. "She's just sitting by her bedside holding on to her," Hutchison said. Payne was hired in March 1997 at the Sheriff's Department but was still considered a rookie on her patrol squad, having been promoted to street duty last June. Reyda has worked for the department for nearly 12 years. Reyda had not been told Saturday evening of Payne's death. "He's two beds over from her," Hutchison said. "He doesn't know." Hutchison said he is worried about how Reyda will react. "She was the rookie," Hutchison said. "He was the more senior officer. With rookies, there is this feeling among senior officers that you are supposed to watch out for the rookie, protect them." Payne and Reyda had been sent to a roofing company on Byington-Beaver Road after a man who lives across the street from the business called the E-911 Center. The caller said he heard screaming and then gunfire. When he looked out his window, he saw a man banging on the door of the closed business. When Payne and Reyda arrived, they parked their cruisers in the northbound lane of the roadway in front of the business because there was no shoulder on which to park, he said. Their emergency lights were operating, he said. The deputies were standing in the southbound lane when they were struck by a southbound car driven by Joshua Grubb, 19, Hutchison said. Payne was thrown some 30 feet, while Reyda landed near where the two were struck. A third deputy, Jason Daniels, arrived seconds later as backup for Payne and Reyda and was unaware at first that his fellow officers had been hit. "Thank goodness, (Daniels) was that close," Hutchison said. "He saw Mike first. He says (on the police radio) he has an officer down. Nobody knew why, whether it was a shooting or an ambush or what. He didn't see Angela right away. When he saw her, he said, 'We've got two down.'" LifeStar emergency helicopter was summoned, but the chopper struck tree limbs while landing, and the deputies had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance. The sheriff said Payne and Reyda may have encountered the shooting suspect in the road and likely had their backs to the approaching car when they were hit. Authorities may have unknowingly questioned the shooting suspect after the accident, Hutchison said, noting there was a small crowd of people gathered there when other deputies arrived. "A witness called today and said one of the people we were talking to after the crash may have been the (suspect)," he said. Authorities are seeking the shooting suspect, the sheriff said. Grubb voluntarily took a blood test, Hutchison said. It does not appear he will be charged in the incident, pending results of that blood test, he said. Payne is the second member of the Sheriff's Department in just over a year to suffer fatal injuries while on duty. Lt. Steve McCulley was killed Feb. 16, 1999, when his cruiser was struck by a train in Farragut. "Everybody's numb, just like we were with Steve," Hutchison said. "It's just hard to believe we're here a year later with another officer."

The Lonely Mourner

In memory of Officer Angela Payne

I did not call you son or daughter, nor husband or wife. I did not call you co-worker, nor friend. But I mourn for you. Who am I? I was the dispatcher on the other end of the radio when your life came to an end. I weep for the parent that is now without a child. I weep for the husband or wife that has lost their spouse. I cry for co-workers, and friends that will no longer share your life. I am the lonely mourner. No one recognizes me because I do not belong in any of the groups listed. I am on my own, alone, in my grief and sadness.

From the very first day of training to be a dispatcher or a call processor, we are taught that our action or inaction can cost someone their life. We are taught that the decisions we make can save a life. Therefore we have an overwhelming need to protect the citizens that call in for help, and also the field units responding to that call. Even though we may know very little, if anything, about the person's personal life we still feel the need to help preserve that life. When a citizen or field personnel loses their life during a call, we feel we somehow failed to do our job. I liken myself to a sheperd, I may not be able to tell you the name of a particular lamb, or if that lamb has any offspring, but I still feel responsible it that one lamb gets separated from the flock and loses its life. I still grieve, for that one lamb that I did not know, because without that one lamb there is an empty place in the flock that can never be filled again.

But where do I go to mourn. I can not share my feelings with your family and friends, because they would not understand how this person that did not know you personally could have such sorrow. I can not go to incident stress debriefings with your co-workers, because often times the field personnel feels the call processor or dispatcher was at fault and they should be allowed to express those feelings freely. Even my own co-workers at times do not understand. They think I am being dramatic to get attention, until it happens to them. No one can understand how close a call processor and dispatcher can get to their calls until they have done it. To the field personnel I am just the person that gives them the type and location of a call, but to me I am their lifeline. I pray every shift that no one gets injured. It is a dispatchers worst nightmare to hear those words "Officer Down". I pray I never hear them again.

I did not know the officer personally that lost her life this time. But I can tell you some things about her. She always answered her calls with enthusiam. When I would broadcast that another officer was requesting assistance, she was always quick to say "I'll be enroute". When I was a little slow calling her a wrecker or getting a keyholder for her, she never got upset, she just waited patiently for me to get back to her with the information. She was always pleasant and professional.

She will be missed and mourned by many, including me.

Her Dispatcher

Brenda Upchurch

(This was given to me Angie Phillips,the daughther of the dispatcher that was on duty the night of this dreadful accident. My thoughts and prayers are with Angela's family, as well as Brenda and her family.) ************************************************

FROM T0PC0P4U

-Police Officer Killed Responding To Emergency

Police said that a 22-year-old Baltimore police officer, who had been on the job slightly more than a year, was killed on Wednesday night when his Jeep Cherokee patrol vehicle collided with a car at a West Baltimore intersection. Officer  Jamie A. Roussey, whose father is a police officer, was responding to assist another officer involved in a foot pursuit of a suspect and was northbound in the first block of North Fulton Avenue at about 1745 EST when he collided with a westbound car at the 1700 block of West Fayette Street. The driver's side of the Jeephit a utility pole.

Firefighters had to cut off the Jeep's roof to extricate Roussey. Roussey suffered multiple injuries and died later at Maryland Shock Trauma Center. The officer sustained massive chest, abdominal and pelvic injuries on his left side. Officer Vincent Roussey, the dead officer's uncle, is a member of Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley's security detail.

Roussey's brother and a cousin are also on the police force. The driver of the car involved in the accident and his passenger -- both 20-year-old males -- were treated for minor injuries at Shock Trauma.

Just a Cop"

The funeral line was long, There's an awful lot of cars, Folks came out of the restaurants, They came out of the bars.

The workers at the construction sites All let their hammers drop. Someone asked."What is this all for?" And they said,"Aw, just a cop."

Some chuckled at the passing cars. Some shed a silent tear Some people said,"It's stupid. all these dumb policemen here."

"How come they're not out fightn' crime? Or in a doughnut shop? Sure is a lot of trouble, For someone who's just a cop."

They blocked the intersections, They blocked the interstate. People yelled and cursed, "Damn, it's gonna make me late!"

"This is really ridiculous!" "They're makin' us all stop!" "It seems they're sure wastin' time, On someone who's just a cop."

Into the cemetery now, The slow procession comes, The woeful Taps are slowly played. There's loud salutes from guns.

The graveyard workers shake their heads "This service is a flop." "There's lots of good words wasted, On someone who's just a cop."

Yeah, just a cop to most folks. Did his duty every day. Tryin' to protect us, Till they took his life away.

And when he got to heaven, St. Peter put him at the top. An angel asked him, "Who was that?" And he said, "Aw, just a cop."

Author Unknown ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

His full name was Rompers Chosen Copy and he was a Tennessee Walker. He was 18 years old and died in the line of duty following a car accident. His rider, Ofc Mike Myers was not on Coffee at the time and was uninjured. The driver suffered minor injuries.

A memorial service is being held Wed, 12/6 at 1000 hrs at the Kirkpatrick Institute of Public Safety on NE 39 Avenue by the airport.

Ed Book Mounted Unit Commander Gainesville Police Department

MORE ON OFFICER COFFEE

GPD Sets Service for Officer Coffee Friday, December 1, 2000

http://www.sunone.com/articles/2000-12-01e.shtml

By CINDY SWIRKO Sun staff writer

A memorial service for Coffee, the Gainesville Police horse killed Wednesday night after he was hit by a car, will be held next week.

Lt. Ed Book said Thursday that Coffee's left humerus, the bone between the elbow and the shoulder, was shattered. Veterinarians told GPD they had no option but to euthanize Coffee, who was about 18 years old.

"There will be a small memorial service that befits a member of the police department," Book said.

Dr. Randy Emmons of Springhill Large Animal Veterinarians tended to Coffee at the scene. Emmons is the unit's regular veterinarian. In addition to the shattered humerus, Emmons said Coffee had a 10-inch gash on the shoulder. The bone was so severely crushed that it could not be repaired, Emmons said. He consulted with two doctors from the University of Florida veterinary college before deciding that Coffee had to be euthanized. "I could feel that it was fractured fairly badly," Emmons said. "Horses have very spindly legs, and they do fine in their own environment. They are designed to run well, but they don't do well when they run into fences or cars. They are engineered strong, but their bones are fairly fragile." Surgery can repair some leg breaks in horse, Emmons said. But serious breaks pose problems because it is difficult to immobilize a horse to allow healing. And a horse's weight is too much to bear on three legs, which weaken and break down within weeks.

Officer Mike Myers, Coffee's partner for two years, was given the day off Thursday. Cpl. Vickie Griffis, horse patrol officer, said deep bonds develop between the horse and officer. Horses developed as prey animals with an instinct to run from dangerous situations, and police horses must put an enormous amount of trust in the officer, Griffis said.

"We say, Let's go to downtown Gainesville and don't be afraid of all the noise, that kid on the skateboard, that fire engine, those guys throwing the beer bottles at you, the Gator football revelers, the large crowds of people we ask to move out of the way,1 2 Griffis said. "My horse Raider relies on me to not ask him to do something that is going to get him hurt," she said. "When the latest scary thing comes along, he will look at it. Then he will turn an ear to me as in, Hey, Ma, is this OK, are we cool with this?1 And I say, OK, Raider, this is cool, walk on,1 and he does."

The accident happened about 5 p.m. in front of the Kmart on NW 13th Street. Myers and Coffee were on a holiday crime prevention patrol in the shopping area. Myers was not on Coffee when the horse was spooked by something and bolted through the Kmart parking lot into 13th Street. Coffee was hit by a driver who was unable to avoid him. Coffee was given painkillers, was cajoled and pushed into his trailer, and taken to UF. He was euthanized about 7:30 p.m. and cremated. Griffis said she stopped to visit Raider afterward. "When we wrapped things up and left Coffee behind at the vet school, before I could go home I had to go by the stables and put my arms around the horse's neck and feel his warm breath on my neck," Griffis said. "I just had to feel his heartbeat and have that bit of communion."

GPD's mounted unit has three horses. Book said Coffee was the calmest of the three. "We theorize that with the large amount of cars, the noise and the movement, he ran out into the street where the car hit him," Book said. "They are trained around all kinds of noises and nuisances, people and distractions specifically so they can maintain their demeanor during problems. But just like a person can be startled, animals can be startled no matter how well they are trained."

Book said a review of the accident will be done, but the incident will not jeopardize the horse unit. The horse patrol has existed for about three years. Coffee and Myers were partners for two years. The unit's goals are crime prevention, crowd control and community relations. "We feel the mounted unit is extremely valuable and a necessary part of the police department. This does not threaten the existence of the mounted unit in any way," Book said. "It has been an excellent presence downtown and in crowd situations throughout the city. It is well-valued by the community in things like parades, neighborhood crime watches and introducing people to the police department." Griffis said she believes the horses have become a symbol for what is good about GPD, noting the department has gotten lots of calls and e-mails of sympathy and offers of help. She admitted to a sense of guilt, even though she knows it was an accident. "We tend to let symbols and objects represent a lot of things for us. I think the horses have come to represent what is positive about GPD and what we hope to do in way of teamwork with community. To lose one is a major blow to the individual relationship and the larger relationship it represents," she said. "I have a strong sense (whether it's logical or not) that we somehow have let him down. A lot of us are coping with that right now even though we know accidents happen, and this clearly was an accident."

The service will be Wednesday at 10 a.m. at Santa Fe Community College's Kirkpatrick Institute of Criminal Justice on NE 39th Avenue.

I at Copspages want to say that this was very sad to me ..I would see these horses around town all the time..If anyone held themselves in Law Enforcement Pride it was these Horses..I will especially miss you Coffee.. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

TROOPER MANSPEAKER

Trooper Jason Manspeaker

Colorado State Patrol, CO

Cause of Death: Automobile accident

End of Watch: January 23, 2001

Date of Incident: January 23, 2001

Time of Incident: 0830 hours

Age: 25

Tour of Duty: 18 mo

Suspect Info: n/a

Weapon Used: No weapon

Trooper Manspeaker was killed in a vehicle accident while responding to investigate the sighting of a van wanted in connection with the murder of Irving, Texas, Police Officer Aubrey Hawkins. During the response Trooper Manspeaker's Jeep Cherokee patrol vehicle left the icy roadway and struck a flat bed tractor trailer which was parked on the shoulder of I-70 near Loveland. The van was later located but was not the van wanted in the case. However, the van which was wanted was located later in the day in a separate part of Colorado. Trooper Manspeaker had been with the agency for 18 months and is survived by his wife. ========

OFCR SCOTT BAIRD

Wednesday, February 14, 2001

GPD STILL INQUIRING INTO DEATH OF POLICE OFCR

By CINDY SWIRKO Sun staff writer

The apparent prank that left a young Gainesville Police officer dead can have serious consequences for the culprits -- as serious as felony murder charges. Police are stopping cars, questioning neighbors and trying to ferret out the truth in the gossip and stories that are floating around Gainesville High School regarding the situation. Meanwhile, services for Officer Scott Baird, 23, have been set, and police from around the state will attend. Baird grew up in Marion County.

The funeral will be 10 a.m. Saturday at Blessed Trinity Catholic Church at 5 SE 17th St. in Ocala. Burial will follow at Highland Memorial Park at 1515 NE 3rd St., Officer Keith Kameg said. Law enforcement agencies from Miami-Dade, Clay, Duval, Osceola, Columbia and other counties will be attending. Kameg said a police procession will start in Gainesville at 8 a.m. and take U.S. 441 to Ocala. Baird was killed early Monday morning in a freak accident on NW 16th Terrace behind Gainesville High School. He was hit by a car while trying to move a baseball batting cage that had been wrestled over a fence and propped in the middle of the street. "Right now we're hoping to get some of those rumors that are flying around," GPD Sgt. Martin Krpan said. "We gather all that and put it on a board. You do a little time line and figure out what's good information and what isn't. You've got to really sort out what is fact. Sometimes there's a fine line." The investigation is centering around Gainesville High, but police are not certain the culprits were students there. Among the other possibilities authorities are checking out: it was a theft by someone wanting a batting cage, it was a joke by students at a rival school or it was done by partying college students. "We know what happened but we don't know why. We don't know if someone tried to steal this batting cage. We don't know if someone did it as a joke," Krpan said. "We're going to the high schools making announcements on the PA and putting up fliers. They are going to start talking about it. We're just hoping they will call." Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Mike Burroughs said the most serious charge that could be leveled is felony murder. Burroughs explained that the theft of the batting cage was a felony. That crime then caused Baird's death. "This could turn into a felony murder case. Any time you commit felony theft and you cause the murder of someone else, you also commit felony murder," Burroughs said. "Though an apparent prank, this has turned into a very serious incident. The best thing to do with students is to lay back for a couple of days. Somebody who has enough morals will know about this case, and it will just be a matter of days before somebody comes forward. If we let nature take its course, someone will lead us to the people who did it." Krpan, however, said police are not "looking at hammering somebody with a charge. We want to find out what happened. Right now, we're guessing at what happened." Burroughs said the motorist who hit Baird may face charges of leaving an accident without giving aid. Eastside High School senior Ira Nathaniel Warren, 17, hit Baird and the batting cage about 4 a.m. when Warren was returning from taking his mother to work at Shands at the University of Florida. He went back to Shands to get his mother to help rather than call 911 immediately. Warren told investigators he was speeding slightly and had seen Baird's emergency lights, Burroughs said. The speed limit on NW 16th Terrace is 30 mph. Warren told police he thought the situation was a checkpoint and tried to drive around it. "If a driver is responsible enough to have gotten a license, they should be responsible enough to stop and render aid of some sort," Burroughs said. "We understand the shock factor. We also have the fact that his speed was a tad above what it should have been and, upon his own admission, he saw the lights and didn't slow down. There are a lot of things we are looking at, but we can't ignore a state statute that says he was responsible to stop and render aid at that moment." Police did set up a checkpoint on NW 16th Terrace from midnight to 3 a.m. Tuesday to try to find people who regularly travel the street at the time and who may have seen something connected to the accident, Krpan said. About 65 people were stopped. Three were able to give helpful information to officers, Krpan said. Authorities believe the cage, which weighs 200 to 300 pounds, was hoisted over the fence that separates the baseball field from the street. It likely took several people to do it. Baird was dispatched to 16th Terrace about 3:43 a.m. after a passer-by noticed the cage and reported it to police. Baird was unable to move it himself and called for a wrecker. Baird had been with GPD since April 1999. He was raised in the Ocala area and attended Santa Fe Community College and UF before switching to SFCC Public Safety Institute. Officers said the mood around GPD was somber Tuesday. A delegation of Ocala city officials, including the mayor and the police chief, came to GPD on Tuesday to present a wreath. Baird's death was the second difficult situation for GPD in the past few weeks. On Jan., 30 Officer Jimmy Hecksel shot and killed UF student Corey Rice, 30, when Rice tried to flee a traffic stop. Hecksel told officers his life was threatened by Rice. Hecksel is on administrative leave pending investigations. Officer Jeff McAdams, head of the Fraternal Order of Police, said he hopes the public understands the pain being felt by officers. "Everybody is real sensitive at a time like this. It hurts, especially when you lose a fellow officer, but we're expected to continue on like nothing happened. We're professionals, but we are human and people need to realize that," McAdams said. "We are approachable; we're human. We had an officer who felt like his life was in jeopardy and felt like he had to take appropriate action. We're just as concerned about the investigation as anyone else. But we have fear, and we hope the public realizes that."

Cindy Swirko can be reached at 374-5024 or swirkoc@gvillesun.com . ***********************************************

WE WILL MISS YOU OFCR BUNTING!! COPSPAGES THANK YOU FOR THE CARE AND CONCERN YOU GAVE US ALL!!

Officer Thomas "Scooter" Bunting

Officer Thomas "Scooter" Bunting was riding his motorcycle, Yamaha R-6, with a passenger on SuperBowl Sunday. When he was about 50 feet from his house, he ran off the road. He could not gain control of the motorcycle again. The passenger fell off, broke her ankle, he continued to go through the brush and trees for quite some time. He was then taken to Norfolk General Hospital, where a bunch of his friends were waiting to hear something.

At about 3:30 a.m. the family of Scooters asked us to go on home and rest. With their wishes, we did. At 8:24 a.m. (5 hours later) I got a phone call, Scooter was pronounced dead at 8:23 a.m.

Scooter, has only been on the department for a short period of time but has made a great impact on everyone he came into contact with. He was an only child, his parents are still not doing well.

Here is a poem that another Officer wrote for him.

"Taken Much Too Soon"

As we sit here trying to make sense of it all. We say to ourselves "How could one of our own Officers take such a fall."

We fight crime all day to protect and serve This type of tragedy we don't deserve. Taken Much Too Soon!

Although you were only known for such a short period of time That great smile and joy of laughter will weigh heavily on our minds.

You may be gone from this world, as we know in sight But memories of you, we will hold in our heart ever so tight.

Taken Much Too Soon! Here today and gone tomorrow Our deepest sympathies go out to your family during their time of sorrow.

Yet taken from us at the tender age of twenty-two We can only say "The Lord had other plans for you"

So go on my dear Thomas, on to a better place You have fought your battle, and run your last race.

So do us a favor and watch over us throughout the days and nights Because you my friend will be in our thoughts, Good Night!

Officer Thomas "Scooter" Bunting, a friend and colleague definitely "Taken Much Too Soon"

January 29, 2001 0823 hours.

Written by Officer Sessoms

Suffolk Police Department.

"Thomas Bunting February 16, 1978 - January 29, 2001"

***********************************************

"THE LITTLEST ROOKIE" Kayla Ann

A baby after only 24 weeks of pregnancy reminds me of our fellow Officer. His wife was admitted into the hospital for some pains, before the night was over....she gave birth to their baby girl, Kayla Ann (Only 23 weeks of pregnancy).

Unfortunately after approximately 3 DAYS of life, she could not survive.

She will be buried tomorrow, 2-22-01.

Please keep these three in your thoughts. Thank you again and everyone please be safe. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Vail Police Officer Ryan Cunningham laid to rest today"

The Vail Police Department submitted the following in memory of fallen Officer Ryan Cunningham:

A PART OF OUR COMMUNITY DIEDA policeman died today And a part of our community diedA piece of our community he swore to protect Will be buried with him at his side A young widowed mother must work for her childAnd spend alone many long nights Though the flag throughout our nation won't fly at half mast To his name they will honor his memoryYes a policeman and a friend died today It happened in our communityWhile we slept in comfort behind our locked doors A cop put his life on the lineHe answered a call and gave us his all And a part of our community died.We will miss you Ryan! — Vail Police Department* * * Funeral services for Ryan Cunningham, the first Vail police officer to die in the line of duty, were held at noon today in Lakewood Colorado. He was buried with full police honors. Cunningham, 27, died around 5 a.m. Sunday while investigating an accident on an icy bridge on Vail Pass, where he leapt over the bridge railing to avoid an out-of-control truck and fell 60 feet. The service was conducted at the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints at 6465 Jewell in Lakewood. A memorial fund has been established at Vail 1stBank for Cunningham’s wife and infant daughter. Cunningham was born Jan. 6, 1974, in Salt Lake City, Utah, and later moved to Denver. He is survived by his wife, Karen; his 6-month-old daughter, Halle; his parents, Dean and Joan Cunningham of Bartlesville, Okla.; sisters Keri Hogan of Salt Lake City, Kimm Smith of Sedan, Kan., and Ricci Cross of Bartlesville, Okla.; and a brother, Todd, of Highlands Ranch, Colo. Cunningham served on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints in Pittsburgh, Pa. He attended Arapahoe Community College and Metropolitan State College in Denver, where he met his wife, Karen. Later he worked for Commerce City, Colo., as a code enforcement officer and as a communications specialist for the Commerce City Police Department. He was hired by the Vail Police Department in January 2000, and he served as a range/firearms instructor and police volunteer coordinator. He also served as elder quorum president for the Vail branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His family has donated Cunningham’s eyes to the Denver-based Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank through the Colorado Donor Registry. That donation resulted in a cornea transplant Wednesday at a Denver area hospital. The family also has donated Cunningham’s tissues and bones to Donor Alliance, a Denver-based tissue and organ bank. Family members said the donations respect Cunningham’s wishes to give the gift of life to others.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

HOUSTON OFCRS GAVE LIFE FOR US!

Officer Albert Vasquez, 32, a seven-year Houston Police Department veteran AND Deputy Joseph Norman Dennis, 35, a 13 year veteran of the Harris County Sheriff's Department

THEY BOTH EXCHANGED THEIR LIVES FOR ALL OF US..How can we not appreciate men and women that will give up their life just so others can be safe.. Please pray for these 2 and all that has done the same.. WE WILL MISS YOU 2 SO MUCH!!!!!

Killed this morning, May 22, 2001.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

If you have photos and dedications to fallen officers that you would like me to add to this page, please let me know. BACK TO MAIN PAGE