The hero police officer who was one of ten people killed by a mass shooter at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado on Monday afternoon, was identified by police officers as Officer Eric Talley, a veteran police officer and father of seven children.
Talley, who had served in the Boulder Police Department since 2010, was one of the first officers to respond to the shooting at a King Soopers store in the city, Police Chief Maris Herold said at a news conference Monday. the evening.
“By all accounts, he was one of the prominent officers in the Boulder Police Department and his life was greatly shortened,” Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said in the briefing.
Talley’s father, Homer Talley, told Denver7 that his son was a father of seven, and his youngest was 7 years old.
“He took his job as a police officer very seriously,” the father said. “He loved his children and his family more than anything.”
His father added that when Talley became a police officer at age 40, “he was looking for a job to stay off the front lines.
“He didn’t want to pass his family off for something like that and believed in Jesus Christ,” Homer Talley told the news channel.
Herold said the dead officer has played “numerous roles” since joining the department.
After his death was announced, a police procession was held in his honor, with crowds of policemen lining the street to greet an ambulance carrying his body.
The suspect in Monday’s assault was arrested. None of the other nine victims were identified immediately.
“My heart goes out to the victims of this incident. And I’m grateful for the police officers who responded, ”Herold said, sometimes suffocating during the briefing.
“And I am sorry for the loss of Officer Talley.”