time is nothing...but timing is everything
but you still can't describe when and why things happen.
Sitting at my desk and watching the memorial service on live internet feed(technology these days).
4 o clock hit the dot and I was on that 420 home...jumped in the ride and jet to Washington memorial. I have NEVER seen so many cops in my life... because everyone there...was there to show love and respect. It was quite a grab bag crowd: the homies from back when, business men, paramedics, cops, fire fighters, city officials, boys from the hood, people on the hustle, cousins from everywhere, o'dea '96-'05, neighbors, and people I bet who just saw the story on TV can took time to come and pay their respects. everyone united...to have their final goodbyes. I hurt me to watch amber...it hurt me more than I thought it would...if I was their for her speech I would have cried. At the police academy where the reception was, lito's little brother...a junior at o'dea sat down and ate with us....this guy had to be like 4'2 89 lbs barely filling out his tux. and he was just calm and collected, often breaking out a smile. "this is wher emy brother graduated from..." I asked the table...what is the difference between the sheriff's dept and spd? this guy answers immediately:"one is the county and one is the city" man...kids be knowin! It hurt man...it really. And then running into the o'dea heads...folks that you rolled with back then, to even folks that you didn't think like him...we were all there...askin how we were..and what we were doin...and damn..these are some bad circumstances to meet back up on...let's reunite soon playa.
I remember this dood though...jeans and khakis fresh strached DAILY cardboard style with the cold crease...he always would buy cross trainer style nikes like the deon's. he had his hair slicked back perfect for a long long time...even rows, gel'd to sharpness. then he sported a high fade for the rest of the way. we was just an organized kid that always checked on his shirt. never really messed with anyone so he was coo to get along. me and him in japanese...we were notorious for the hand/pen tricks. dood laughed at me when I got a detention for droppin my pen too much on the desk practicing. lito was the dood back then...that seemed to be in all my classes. In the celebration of one's life..I am humbled to know that the key to life is relationships...and there were were...in a sense celebrating our relationships connected to lito. he would have been a good cop, husband and father...
yesteday it felt good to reunite...with old folks...trusted folks...over meals and drink...although it took something that hurt to initiate conversation...so be it.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Seattle officer mourned
By SCOTT GUTIERREZ and JOHN IWASAKI
P-I REPORTERS
Seattle police Chief Gil Kerlikowske gently handed the American flag from Officer Joselito Barber's casket to the fallen officer's mother. Lorna A. Ring clutched the tightly folded flag and sobbed into the chief's arms.
RELATED STORIES, PHOTOS
- Stiffer prison term to be sought in officer's death
- Confusion nearly frees woman held in officer's death
- Suspect in deadly crash was no stranger to legal system
- Family mourns their lost hero
- Photo gallery
An honor guard officer handed Kerlikowske two more flags, both folded into triangles. He placed one into the arms of Emelita Barber, the officer's stepmother. He gave the other to the officer's fiancée, Amber Noel-Du.
On Monday, the 26-year-old officer was laid to rest under the glow of sunset at Washington Memorial Cemetery in SeaTac. Barber was killed eight days ago when a driver who police say was intoxicated blew through a red light and slammed into Barber's patrol car. A freshly minted graduate of the police academy, he had been on the job for only five months.
At another service earlier in the day, Kerlikowske thanked Barber's family for their support and graciousness. Department officials accustomed to helping bereaved relatives found themselves treated like family in coping with the officer's death, he said.
"The family has turned the tables on us. The family has taken care of us," he said.
They opened their arms to officers, even inviting them to the wedding when officer Barber’s uncle, Ryan, was married this week, assistant chief Nicholas Metz said.
Metz said the family will be invited when Barber's name is inscribed on three shrines, including the memorial wall in Seattle police headquarters; the Washington State Law Enforcement Memorial in Olympia; and the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.
As Barber's emotional funeral concluded, bagpipers sounded out "Amazing Grace." A State Patrol honor guard fired a 21-gun salute as a cool breeze blew through the cemetery green. Two bugle players followed with a rendition of taps as a semicircle of officers stood tall, raising their hands to salute.
Barber's funeral service was held in three locations and lasted throughout the day, drawing scores of family and friends and hundreds of law enforcement officers and first-responders from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Canada.
The day of remembering began with a funeral Mass at St. James Cathedral that was attended by several hundred people. It continued at the University of Washington's Hec Edmundson Pavilion, which filled with officers in blue or hunter-green uniforms paying their respects. Two fire trucks were parked with their ladders extended high and crossed like swords, a flag hanging in between.
During the Mass, Emelita Barber remembered Barber as a cute but cautious child who always did his homework, excelled academically from St. Paul grade school to the University of Washington, never forgot family members' birthdays, and looked after her.
"For my children, Lito was not only a big brother -- he was their hero," she said.
Her voice breaking, she said she hoped that her stepson's "integrity, dedication and loyalty has served as an inspiration to some."
"What more can a parent ask for?" she said as some members of the audience wept. "Lito, wherever you are, rest in peace. You will always be my first child and I'm so honored to be your mother."
Joselito Barber's uncle, San Francisco police Sgt. Inspector Glenn Sylvester, remembered his nephew as an organized boy who loved to play cops and robbers and wear his grandfather's Filipino police badge.
Serving in law enforcement means "you are taking a chance," Sylvester said. "You never know who's coming around the corner."
He imagines God spoke to Barber in the milliseconds before a speeding car crashed into his nephew.
"God said, 'Lito, it's time to go, or else someone else will go,' and Lito said, 'God, take me,' " Sylvester said. "If Lito knew someone would get hurt, he'd put his life ahead of theirs.' "
On Aug. 13, Barber was on patrol when a woman driving a sport utility vehicle broadsided him at an intersection. The suspect, Mary Jane Rivas, who has a history of drug abuse, was charged with vehicular homicide in King County Superior Court.
At the second service, Barber's fiancée described how he always did his best to protect her, even quizzing her about what she would do in an emergency while on a four-day trip to Maui.
It was one of the few times they were apart during their courtship, she said.
She joked about him practicing "building searches" in their home and his defensive tactics, which prompted laughter from the law enforcement audience.
"Lito always wanted to protect me. He did, and I love him for that," she said.
She paused. "I can't imagine life without you but I know I don't have to because you'll always be watching over me."
His uncle, Ryan Barber, who refers to himself as a cousin, said Barber was a "tough kid" growing up but had a sense of humor. He said he knew Barber would have served his uniform proudly.
In one corner of the pavilion, several rows of civilians in orange aprons stood out from the dominant shades of blue. The aprons were worn by about 30 Home Depot employees who worked with Barber during his four years as a loss prevention officer with the home improvement chain. Like law enforcement officers, they wanted to honor Barber with their work uniforms.
"We wanted to make sure that people knew it was a part of his life," said Dave Fox, Home Depot's district loss prevention manager.
Fox said he's seen several employees become police officers or firefighters. This is the first time he's had a former co-worker die in the line of duty, he said.
"It's such a sad thing," he said, "but at the same time, we're happy knowing that he fulfilled his dream (of becoming a police officer.)"
Sitting at my desk and watching the memorial service on live internet feed(technology these days).
4 o clock hit the dot and I was on that 420 home...jumped in the ride and jet to Washington memorial. I have NEVER seen so many cops in my life... because everyone there...was there to show love and respect. It was quite a grab bag crowd: the homies from back when, business men, paramedics, cops, fire fighters, city officials, boys from the hood, people on the hustle, cousins from everywhere, o'dea '96-'05, neighbors, and people I bet who just saw the story on TV can took time to come and pay their respects. everyone united...to have their final goodbyes. I hurt me to watch amber...it hurt me more than I thought it would...if I was their for her speech I would have cried. At the police academy where the reception was, lito's little brother...a junior at o'dea sat down and ate with us....this guy had to be like 4'2 89 lbs barely filling out his tux. and he was just calm and collected, often breaking out a smile. "this is wher emy brother graduated from..." I asked the table...what is the difference between the sheriff's dept and spd? this guy answers immediately:"one is the county and one is the city" man...kids be knowin! It hurt man...it really. And then running into the o'dea heads...folks that you rolled with back then, to even folks that you didn't think like him...we were all there...askin how we were..and what we were doin...and damn..these are some bad circumstances to meet back up on...let's reunite soon playa.
I remember this dood though...jeans and khakis fresh strached DAILY cardboard style with the cold crease...he always would buy cross trainer style nikes like the deon's. he had his hair slicked back perfect for a long long time...even rows, gel'd to sharpness. then he sported a high fade for the rest of the way. we was just an organized kid that always checked on his shirt. never really messed with anyone so he was coo to get along. me and him in japanese...we were notorious for the hand/pen tricks. dood laughed at me when I got a detention for droppin my pen too much on the desk practicing. lito was the dood back then...that seemed to be in all my classes. In the celebration of one's life..I am humbled to know that the key to life is relationships...and there were were...in a sense celebrating our relationships connected to lito. he would have been a good cop, husband and father...
yesteday it felt good to reunite...with old folks...trusted folks...over meals and drink...although it took something that hurt to initiate conversation...so be it.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Seattle officer mourned
By SCOTT GUTIERREZ and JOHN IWASAKI
P-I REPORTERS
Seattle police Chief Gil Kerlikowske gently handed the American flag from Officer Joselito Barber's casket to the fallen officer's mother. Lorna A. Ring clutched the tightly folded flag and sobbed into the chief's arms.
RELATED STORIES, PHOTOS
- Stiffer prison term to be sought in officer's death
- Confusion nearly frees woman held in officer's death
- Suspect in deadly crash was no stranger to legal system
- Family mourns their lost hero
- Photo gallery
An honor guard officer handed Kerlikowske two more flags, both folded into triangles. He placed one into the arms of Emelita Barber, the officer's stepmother. He gave the other to the officer's fiancée, Amber Noel-Du.
On Monday, the 26-year-old officer was laid to rest under the glow of sunset at Washington Memorial Cemetery in SeaTac. Barber was killed eight days ago when a driver who police say was intoxicated blew through a red light and slammed into Barber's patrol car. A freshly minted graduate of the police academy, he had been on the job for only five months.
At another service earlier in the day, Kerlikowske thanked Barber's family for their support and graciousness. Department officials accustomed to helping bereaved relatives found themselves treated like family in coping with the officer's death, he said.
"The family has turned the tables on us. The family has taken care of us," he said.
They opened their arms to officers, even inviting them to the wedding when officer Barber’s uncle, Ryan, was married this week, assistant chief Nicholas Metz said.
Metz said the family will be invited when Barber's name is inscribed on three shrines, including the memorial wall in Seattle police headquarters; the Washington State Law Enforcement Memorial in Olympia; and the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.
As Barber's emotional funeral concluded, bagpipers sounded out "Amazing Grace." A State Patrol honor guard fired a 21-gun salute as a cool breeze blew through the cemetery green. Two bugle players followed with a rendition of taps as a semicircle of officers stood tall, raising their hands to salute.
Barber's funeral service was held in three locations and lasted throughout the day, drawing scores of family and friends and hundreds of law enforcement officers and first-responders from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Canada.
The day of remembering began with a funeral Mass at St. James Cathedral that was attended by several hundred people. It continued at the University of Washington's Hec Edmundson Pavilion, which filled with officers in blue or hunter-green uniforms paying their respects. Two fire trucks were parked with their ladders extended high and crossed like swords, a flag hanging in between.
During the Mass, Emelita Barber remembered Barber as a cute but cautious child who always did his homework, excelled academically from St. Paul grade school to the University of Washington, never forgot family members' birthdays, and looked after her.
"For my children, Lito was not only a big brother -- he was their hero," she said.
Her voice breaking, she said she hoped that her stepson's "integrity, dedication and loyalty has served as an inspiration to some."
"What more can a parent ask for?" she said as some members of the audience wept. "Lito, wherever you are, rest in peace. You will always be my first child and I'm so honored to be your mother."
Joselito Barber's uncle, San Francisco police Sgt. Inspector Glenn Sylvester, remembered his nephew as an organized boy who loved to play cops and robbers and wear his grandfather's Filipino police badge.
Serving in law enforcement means "you are taking a chance," Sylvester said. "You never know who's coming around the corner."
He imagines God spoke to Barber in the milliseconds before a speeding car crashed into his nephew.
"God said, 'Lito, it's time to go, or else someone else will go,' and Lito said, 'God, take me,' " Sylvester said. "If Lito knew someone would get hurt, he'd put his life ahead of theirs.' "
On Aug. 13, Barber was on patrol when a woman driving a sport utility vehicle broadsided him at an intersection. The suspect, Mary Jane Rivas, who has a history of drug abuse, was charged with vehicular homicide in King County Superior Court.
At the second service, Barber's fiancée described how he always did his best to protect her, even quizzing her about what she would do in an emergency while on a four-day trip to Maui.
It was one of the few times they were apart during their courtship, she said.
She joked about him practicing "building searches" in their home and his defensive tactics, which prompted laughter from the law enforcement audience.
"Lito always wanted to protect me. He did, and I love him for that," she said.
She paused. "I can't imagine life without you but I know I don't have to because you'll always be watching over me."
His uncle, Ryan Barber, who refers to himself as a cousin, said Barber was a "tough kid" growing up but had a sense of humor. He said he knew Barber would have served his uniform proudly.
In one corner of the pavilion, several rows of civilians in orange aprons stood out from the dominant shades of blue. The aprons were worn by about 30 Home Depot employees who worked with Barber during his four years as a loss prevention officer with the home improvement chain. Like law enforcement officers, they wanted to honor Barber with their work uniforms.
"We wanted to make sure that people knew it was a part of his life," said Dave Fox, Home Depot's district loss prevention manager.
Fox said he's seen several employees become police officers or firefighters. This is the first time he's had a former co-worker die in the line of duty, he said.
"It's such a sad thing," he said, "but at the same time, we're happy knowing that he fulfilled his dream (of becoming a police officer.)"