Officers remembered as devoted lawmen
One victim served three tours in Iraq, another trained police in Iraq, Afghanistan
The stories of the officers gunned down in a sniper attack in Dallas during a protest over recent police shootings of black men emerged Friday as their identities became known. Authorities say five officers were killed and at least seven others were wounded in the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Officer Brent Thompson, 43, had worked as an officer for the Dallas Area Rapid Transit authority for the past seven years.
DART chief James Spiller said Thompson had married another DART officer within the last two weeks.
“Brent was a great officer,” Spiller told MSNBC early Friday. “He has served admirably during his time here at DART.”
Thompson, who lived in Corsicana, Texas, had six grown children from a previous marriage and had recently welcomed his third grandchild, said Tara Thornton, a close friend of Thompson’s 22-year-old daughter, Lizzie. Thornton said Thompson and his close-knit family would often get together and have classic rock singalongs, with Thornton and his son, Jake, playing guitars.
“He was a brave man dedicated to his family,” Thornton said.
According to his LinkedIn page, before joining the DART force, Thompson worked as an international police liaison officer, helping teach and mentor Iraqi police. He had also worked in Afghanistan, where he was a team leader and lead mentor to the southern provincial police chief.
Another victim, officer Patrick Zamarripa, 32, had survived three tours in Iraq, one of the world’s most dangerous places, his father said Friday.
It had been 12 hours since he’d lost his son to one of the country’s worst mass police shootings, and Rick Zamarripa couldn’t understand why.
“He comes to the United States to protect people here,” Rick said. “And they take his life.”
Rick was watching television Thursday night when news broke that someone had opened fire in downtown Dallas about 9 p.m. after a peaceful protest. He knew that his son had in recent months begun working as a bike officer in the area, an assignment he enjoyed.
“Hey Patrick,” he texted. “Are you okay?”
Rick had asked that question before because he knew Zamarripa’s job was dangerous, and the response usually came quickly: “Yes, dad. I’ll call you back.” Not this time. “I didn’t hear nothing,” Rick said. He contacted Zamarripa’s wife, Kristy Villasenor, whom he believes was at a Texas Rangers game with their 2-year-old daughter, Lyncoln. She knew nothing initially but soon was told they should get to the hospital, he said.
Rick sped east from his home about 65 kilometres outside the city. He was the first family member to arrive and asked an officer about his son.
“He wouldn’t tell me,” Rick said. “He had that look on his face. I knew.”
Patrick Zamarripa’s entire adult life had been devoted to service. He entered the navy soon after high school and saw combat while working for the military police in Iraq, Rick said. When he got out about five years ago, he joined the Dallas Police Department.
He just liked to help people, his father said.
The authorities in Michigan identified a third officer as Michael Krol, 40. Before moving to Dallas, Krol served in the Wayne County jail system from 2003 to 2007, said the county sheriff, Benny N. Napoleon. Two of Krol’s relatives declined to be interviewed on Friday.
A fourth officer, Lorne Ahrens, was married to a Dallas police detective and was regarded as a lawman devoted to the profession that he pursued in Dallas for more than a dozen years.
“There are very few officers I’ve met who are more passionate about doing the job right than that man,” said Timothy S. Rodgers, a former prosecutor in Dallas County.
“He was always calling me. He always had questions like, ‘What can I do better in this situation?’ ”
Ahrens had worked in patrol and on property crimes. Rodgers recalled with a chuckle that his friend had a knack for finding criminals who would challenge him, despite his hefty size.
The fifth slain officer was Michael J. Smith, who joined the police department in September 1989 after growing up in the southeastern corner of the state.
In a publication acknowledging his Cops’ Cop award, the Police Association said that Smith held an array of posts: in personnel, on patrol and at the airport. The publication also said he had been injured on duty years ago when a gang member “lunged at his partner with an unknown object in his hand.” With files from Star wires