Another slain Brother

[azsnowman]

Another Phoenix police officer has been killed in the line of duty.....this story is sad, sickening....killed by a known illegal alien


http://www.azcentral.com

rning, outrage over officer's death
Slain officer was known for his heroism
Judi Villa
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 20, 2007 12:00 AM

Phoenix police Officer Nick Erfle knew a single round from an AK-47 assault rifle would rip right through his bulletproof vest.

But the gunman he was chasing more than a year ago had just pulled into an elementary school as parents and buses dropped off children.

Instead of waiting for backup or pulling behind the suspect to shield himself, Erfle placed himself squarely between the AK-47 and the schoolyard full of children.





That's just the kind of officer he was.

"He put himself right in direct fire," said Sgt. Phil Roberts, who once supervised Erfle. "Nick really was truly one of those officers that was an exception. He loved his job, and he went out there every day to catch bad guys."

Erfle, 33, an eight-year veteran and married father of two, was shot in the face and killed Tuesday after he and his partner stopped a jaywalker in central Phoenix. The killer, Erik Jovani Martinez, 22, had given the officers a fake name that linked to a misdemeanor shoplifting warrant. When Erfle and Officer Rob Rodarme tried to arrest Martinez, he fought with both of them, police said Wednesday. All three men had fallen to the ground when Martinez pulled a gun, fired multiple times and ran.

Rodarme chased Martinez but couldn't return fire because the area was too crowded. Martinez commandeered a stopped car at gunpoint and ordered the motorist to drive. About an hour later, tactical officers surrounded the vehicle and killed Martinez after he raised a gun to the hostage's head and threatened to kill him.

Only then, through fingerprints, did detectives learn who Martinez really was, an illegal immigrant who had been deported last year and had a felony warrant for aggravated assault.


A father, husband, officer
On Wednesday, friends, co-workers and an entire community mourned the officer who had a "sixth sense" about bad guys and a knack for finding drugs and stolen cars. They mourned a husband who was deeply in love with his wife and a father who doted on his two boys, ages 3 and 5. They mourned a fighter who overcame cancer twice and passed up a desk job to live his dream.

"I think, most important, Nick would always want to be remembered as a good father and a good husband, and he was," Roberts said. "Secondly, I think Nick would want to be remembered as a good cop, and he was."

Erfle won a Medal of Valor in 2006 for the schoolyard incident, which ended peacefully, and Roberts said his personnel file is "just littered with commendations."

Erfle's passion for his job always stood out, Roberts said. He remembers how Erfle's second bout with testicular cancer was so much worse than the first and how co-workers worried he wouldn't be able to come back. But Erfle always said, "Oh, I'm coming back out on the street, boss. There's no doubt in my mind."

He was a role model for other officers, the kind of officer Roberts had hoped his own daughter would look up to when she recently joined the force and was assigned to Erfle's precinct.

He was funny and caring and never complained, even if he was asked to do traffic control for hours in 100-degree heat. "Obviously, Nick would not have wanted the outcome to be this," Roberts said. "But just seconds before this happened, Nick was doing exactly what he wanted to do. . . . He went out and found the worst possible person, and he made contact. And he did it because he wanted to make the streets of Phoenix safer."


A growing tribute
At 24th Street and Pinchot Avenue, where Erfle was killed, a memorial grew on Wednesday. The site was full of candles, flowers, balloons and a cross. Children's drawings of police officers lay next to a large American flag draped over the grass. Cards and letters of condolence surrounded a tiny rosary.

Despite the busy intersection, those gathered remained silent as at least a dozen officers paid their respects.

Officer Chris Wilson worked with Erfle at the Squaw Peak Precinct and said the slain officer had recently switched squads to have weekends off with his family.



Wendy Hughes traveled from her home in Glendale and left a poster with a Bible verse from the Book of Matthew.

"Blessed is the peacemaker," it said, "for they will be called sons of God."

CJ Maniates, a Vietnam veteran, left his Purple Heart along with a letter that read, "I knew him, yet I didn't know him." His war medal was his way of saying thank you to Erfle's family.

At the Paradise Valley school, where Erfle's oldest son was in first grade, the children wrote letters to the little boy. The school's director, Piya Jacob, said Erfle frequently gave classroom talks about being a police officer.

"He was a very loving and involved parent," Jacob said.


A life 'robbed'
Kathy Guzman Cramer said she cried when she saw the dead officer's picture and realized it was her former neighbor. She used to see Erfle almost daily, pushing one of his sons in a stroller and walking the family dog.

Every once in awhile, Guzman Cramer, who works for the Phoenix Fire Department, would ask Erfle why he didn't become a firefighter, instead. "He would always say he was a police officer, and that's what he was there to do," she said.

Guzman Cramer thought about the two little boys who will grow up without a father. She thought about the wife who will never again touch her husband. She thought about the unfairness and the senselessness of it all.

"He was just at the beginning of his life. . . . And he got robbed," she said. "It's a huge loss."

[Stephanie]

May God bless him and his family. What a very brave man.

[DaylilyDawn]

I am praying for his family!