Spade Donates To Slain Officer's Family

Comic actor David Spade, who said he's deeply affected by the slaying of a Phoenix police officer, has shown his support for the family with a $25,000 donation.

After reading about Officer Nick Erfle's shooting death last month, Spade, a Scottsdale, Ariz., native, says he was "hit out of the blue" by the ordeal and the fact that Erfle had overcome cancer to return to duty.

"I'm from Arizona so I'm always a little aware of things that are going on there," Spade told The Associated Press Monday. "It just struck me as such a rough situation just because cops in general get kind of a bad rap lately and people forget it is the scariest job out there."

Spade, who stars on the CBS sitcom "Rules of Engagement," said he immediately arranged for a money transfer into a bank account already established for public donations.

"It was hard to get through. It took me a while. I finally got somebody at the bank's voicemail and left a message," Spade said.

He has not spoken with family or friends of Erfle. Spade said he hopes Erfle's wife was able to use the money for the funeral or any other expenses.

"I just thought I would throw something in the pile," he said.

Erfle, 33, was fatally shot Sept. 18 at a busy central Phoenix street after attempting to arrest Erik Jovani Martinez, 22. Martinez, an illegal immigrant who had been deported in March of 2006, gave an alias to conceal an outstanding felony warrant. Unbeknownst to Martinez, the alias belonged to someone who also had an outstanding warrant.

Besides a wife, Erfle left behind two sons, ages 5 and 3.