Thursday, October 18, 2007

The long week is over and ended on a horribly tragic note. This morning our SWAT team was assisting a neighboring city, Rialto, with search warrant services. While making entry into a drughouse, a Rialto officer was critically shot and succumbed to his injuries a short time later.

The regional trauma center is in my city and my shift shut down the world in order to get officer's, friends, and family into the facility so they could gather to grieve. Watching burly, veteran SWAT officers walk in, eyes swollen and red, made me take pause, but I stayed stoic in expression while I went about my duties.

When a sheriff's helicopter landed and the fallen officer's wife stepped out, it was too much. As cops, we know what we signed on for. We train against tragedy, and wear our armor, both physically and psychologically. But, seeing her and the look of what I can only start to describe as complete devastation, clarified to me that that we do not go into the job alone. For her, their family, their friends, and their co-workers, it's a world I hope I never venture into in any capacity.

So, please, think good thoughts and prayers for the family of Officer Sergio Carerra. He was 29 years old, married, with two children, ages 1 & 2. Tonight, he won't be coming home.

1 comments:

K Hutchinson said...

Sending good thoughts and prayers to that officer's family. What a horrible thing to happen to someone trying to protect us from the bad people. My heart goes out to all the offices and their families....you all give so much to help keep us safe! Thank you so much!