Pittsburgh Area Police Gather To Honor, Memorialize Slain Dallas Officers
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Officers Patrick Zamarripa, Michael Krol, Michael Smith, Lorne Ahrens and Brent Thompson made the ultimate sacrifice in Dallas on July 7.
To honor their memory, officers from all over Pittsburgh stood around the Allegheny County Law Enforcement Officers Memorial on the North Shore Wednesday evening. Families of local fallen officers were by their side.
"The demonstration in Dallas was a peaceful demonstration about the police actions throughout the United States," Paul "Max" Sciullo said.
Sciullo lost his son, Officer Paul Sciullo, on April 4, 2009, in Stanton Heights during a domestic dispute. Fellow officers Stephen Mayhle and Eric Kelly also died.
"When the gunfire started, the demonstrators ran for cover while the Dallas police officer ran to the fire," Sciullo said.
"Don't blame all police officers. There's some good police officers. My son was one of them," said Francis Kelly, mother of fallen police officer Eric Kelly.
"These things, although they tear us apart on a temporary basis, they always make us stronger; and when we're stronger, we serve our community better," University of Pittsburgh Police Chief James Loftus said.
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"We start with conversations, honest conversations, each other and our stories and start to minimize the hatred going on across the aisles," Chief Chaplain of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police John Welch said.