Ed note: At the time of posting, we had lost five officers during the first five days of May. Let’s hope and pray that we can see a break from this horrible start, especially as we head toward Police Week.
We lost eight officers during the month of April. As the month ended, the year-to-date toll was 33. That’s lower than the same time last year (37)—and remember that last year was the lowest level of loss that we’ve seen since 1944, according to our partners at the Officer Down Memorial Page (www.odmp.org). Of the officers who died last month, five died in vehicle crashes, one was killed as the result of a fire, one died from a heart attack and one succumbed to a gunshot wound suffered in 1991. Clearly, vehicle operations continue to be the most deadly task that law officers engage in.
Words are always inadequate when trying to express the devastation caused by a line-of-duty death. The sudden loss of a loved one wreaks havoc on families and departments; lives are forever changed. The eight officers we lost last month ranged in age from 32 to 58. On behalf of everyone at Law Officer, I want to express the deepest condolences to those who lost an officer during April. Listed in order of occurrence:
Officer Gregg Maloney, 44, Plymouth (Mass.) Police Department, died as the result of a single-vehicle motorcycle crash. He was on patrol with another officer at approximately 2:15 pm when he went down. There was no indication as to why the bike went down according to the department. He was transported to a hospital and later airlifted to a Boston-area hospital where he died.
Deputy Ernest Franklin, 58, Barren County (Ky.) Sheriff’s Department, died in a single-vehicle crash on Kentucky 90 near Glasgow. For unknown reasons, Franklin’s vehicle left the roadway, hit an embankment and then landed in a small pond. He died at the scene.
Officer Dennis Guerra, 38, New York Police Department, died as the result of injuries he sustained while at a building fire. Guerra and his partner responded to the fire on the 13th floor of a NYC Housing Authority building in Brooklyn. As Guerra and his partner stepped off the elevator, they were overcome by smoke and carbon monoxide. They radioed for help and FDNY responded, finding both officers unconscious and unresponsive. Guerra was resuscitated but died three days later. His partner survived but was critically injured. The fire was set intentionally set by a 16-year-old who is now in custody.
Officer Chris Cortijo, 51, Los Angeles Police Department, died as the result of injuries suffered four days prior when his motorcycle was struck from behind by an impaired driver. He had stopped at a red light when the car slammed into him. He was transported to the hospital where he remained in a coma until succumbing to his injuries. The driver of the car that struck Cortijo was determined to be under the influence of drugs.
Agent Marielis Morales-Santiago, 32, Puerto Rico Police Department, died as the result of injuries suffered in a vehicle collision six days prior. She and another officer were in a department vehicle when it was struck by another car, which caused the officers’ vehicle to overturn, seriously injuring both officers. Both were airlifted to a hospital and Morales-Santiago later succumbed to her injuries.
Deputy Mike Seversen, 51, Polk County (Wis.) Sheriff’s Department, died as the result of complications from a gunshot wound he sustained in April 1991, as he and Deputy Sheriff Allen Albee, of the Burnett County Sheriff's Office, tried to arrest a subject wanted for a shooting in Minnesota. Seversen had responded to assist after the subject’s car was located in Burnett County. Several deputies were approaching the subject’s car when he opened fire with a handgun. Albee was killed and Seversen suffered a wound to his spinal cord, causing him to become paralyzed from the neck down. He died almost 14 years after the incident. The suspect was killed when other deputies returned fire.
Deputy William Kelley, 45, Covington County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Department, was killed in a vehicle crash while responding to report of an accident with injuries. His vehicle hydroplaned and struck another vehicle.
Deputy Bryan Berger, 34, Spotsylvania County (Va.) Sheriff’s Department, suffered a fatal heart attack while participating in physical training at the Rappahannock Regional Criminal Justice Academy in Fredericksburg, Va. He was warming up for officer survival exercises when he began to feel ill. An ambulance was called but he collapsed as it arrived at the scene. Although he was immediately transported to a local hospital, doctors were unable to revive him. Berger had only been a deputy for seven months.
Vehicle operations continue to be the most deadly activity that officers engage in and half of all fatal crashes involve a single vehicle. The sad truth is that many of our losses are preventable and we must learn from the terrible lessons of the past so that we don't continue to repeat deadly mistakes. No line-of-duty death should ever be considered as acceptable or without consequence. The best way for us to honor our fallen is by training the living. Those who have given their lives would want nothing less.
Law Officer’s Below 100 initiative is working hard to address those LODD areas that are primarily under an officer’s control. For more information on Below 100, go to www.Below100.com.
Special thanks to our great partners at the Officer Down Memorial Page for their assistance with these summaries. For more information on ODMP and to sign up for alert notification when an LODD occurs, go to www.ODMP.org.