My Dad was tall and proud. He was not afraid of any man, nor afraid of any danger that may come his way. He was not fearless as I've heard many people say, he was afraid for his family. He knew we'd be hurt, if something should happen to him. And it did. He was shot 5 times in the chest and abdomen on June 14th, 2001. He fought and cried in the hospital for 27 days, but it was just to hard. He died July 10, 2001. He was my dad. People read in the papers that a "Cop died after hospital stay". They didnt get the whole story, and now I'm here to tell it:
It was a warm and beautiful day. I was a 19 year old kid with ambitions to be in law enforcement. I was riding with my dad that day. I took a bullet out of my 9mm handgun and put it next to dads chest. I said, "thats why you need a vest, Dad". But he wouldn't wear one, he was too strong. Nothing could ever touch him, he believed that. We got in his patrol car, and set off for the day of crime stopping.
16 minutes into his shift, we saw a car that Dad had been looking for. This man had stolen guns and he had them with him. As we pulled him over, everything went as planned. I said, "Be careful, Dad". He told me to stay in the car. I could see the man looking back at us in his mirrors, I saw children riding their bikes on the street. There was a truck pulling a trailer down the road that hit a chuckhole and made a loud bang like a gun going off. When Dad got to his car, the man jumped out with 2 guns and fired with both of them into my dads chest. He then fired at me, hitting me in the side! Dad, being strong, shot back to protect me. He hit the man 8 times, but the man kept shooting and shooting. I knew I had to get out of the car or I was going to die, so I got out and got the shotgun from the truck. The man kept shooting and shooting...the shotgun I had silenced his blasts.
My dad and I fought together. We cried together. We had nightmares together. And on July 10th, 2001, we died together. Thats the real story. Today, I am a walking body. It has cost me to lose my girlfriend that I had for 3 years. 3 wonderful years. It's cost me so much. So many times I wished it was me that died instead of him. The newspapers didn't say that. They didn't say that this murderer took away my best friend, or that he took away my girlfriend, the only person on this planet that I could let love me. Yes, he killed my Dad, but he ruined my life. And that's the real story.
I'll never see my Dad again, I'll never listen to his stories or take his advice. I'll never smell my girlfriends purfume again, I'll never feel the tingles I got when she touched my skin. Yes, the paper told the facts...but they didnt tell the truth. My life is over, I died 2 years ago, on a beautiful sunny day.
Officer's Name: Sgt. Daniel R. Starnes
Officer's Dept.: Morgan County Sheriff's Dept.
City: Martinsville, IN
End of Watch: July 10, 2001
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