this is just random mumbling, but it's so sad. when i think about this, it really scares me, life can change so much in a matter of minutes and you don't even know it.

on june 23rd my moms friend (charlie cook) was on call as a police officer and he had his brother with him (who was 18 and training to be a police officer, so he was a ride along) and he took his seat belt off for just a minute to get his wallet, then he got a call that there was a motor cycle driving crazy on the highway, so he takes off after this guy, not remembering to put his seat belt back on. So he finds this guy, chases him all over the highway and it hadn't gotten bad yet (had it gotten really bad (and had he gotten the chance) he would have called it off like you're supposed to) but just as he reached the top of the hill on the highway there was a semi that hit him and made his durango fly into the battery pack of the stop lights.

he moved the battery pack like 11 inches or something and its cemented into the ground, he broke both of his hips, and his legs and im not sure what else, and i heard my mom say today that his aeorta got pulled away from his heart (or something like that) and he should have died then, but he didn't, and his hair was in the lining of the car.

Anyway, he was taken to the hospital in another town (considering our hospital here sucks) and he was in for about 5 days. there were levels (im not sure what kind of levels, im sorry i dont have a lot of details, i just heard my mom talking about it today) the doctors said that these levels should be around 15, and that if it reaches 30 then you're brain dead, well his were 80, so on june 28th they waited until all of his family and friends were there and turned off the vent, and he died instantly. it's just so sad to me, he had a wife and a 3 year old son and he was only 28 years old.

so the funeral was the other day, my mom said there were 50 motor cycle cops, and 300 squad cars full of cops there, plus his friends and family. and they went to the cemetary when it was over like you usually do, and at the end of that cemetary, his radio came on and they said "319" (which is his number) "319..." "319.. end of watch" which is what they usually say at the end of the day, but he never got to say it.

and this is what made me post this, theres a website dedicated to fallen officers and on it you can post something about him, and his brother posted this.

charlie,
I NOT ONLY LOST A FELLOW OFFICER, I LOST MY BROTHER, AND MY BEST FRIEND. YOU WERE THE BEST MAN AT MY WEDDING. I WAS THE BEST MAN AT YOUR WEDDING. YOU WERE THERE FOR BOTH MY CHILDREN'S BIRTHS. I WAS THERE FOR YOUR SON'S BIRTH. NO MATTER WHAT, YOU WERE ALWAYS THERE. YOU HAVE LOOKED OUT FOR ME ALL MY LIFE, NOW IT IS MY TURN. REST EASY CHARLIE YOUR SON WILL NEVER FORGET THE HERO HIS DADDY WAS. I KNOW THAT I WILL NEVER REPLACE YOU, BUT DON'T WORRY. I WILL BE THERE BECAUSE YOU CAN'T. YOUR WATCH IS OVER, I'LL TAKE IT FROM HERE. I LOVE YOU CHARLIE.

it just makes me so sad, i mean... his life changed forever, his wifes life changed forever! i can't imagine waking up one day and saying goodbye for my husband for the last time, not knowing that'd be te last time you saw him alive. im sorry im rambling, it's just horrible and im feeling really down and i felt the need to post it, i felt like it needed to be talked about.

and can you believe people have the nerve to call into the news paper and say "he should have had his seat belt on, we get stopped for that" (yeah you do, but youre also not in a high speed chase are ya?) or people video taped the squad cars speeding to get his family to the hospital after the wreck and posted it on the internet and on the news saying "look, theyre speeding" god people just irk me.

heres the link, hopefully im allowed to post it.

oops forgot to post the link lol

http://www.odmp.org/reflections.php?oid=18 938