Reply With QuoteMan, it was 2 weeks ago. Seems like it was not that long ago:
Rookie officer injured in crash dies
Republic staff, wire reports
Nov. 30, 2005 07:25 AM
A rookie Phoenix police officer injured Monday when his patrol car crashed has died.
Phoenix police spokesman Detective Tony Morales said Paul Salmon, 22, died Tuesday night at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center.
He had been on life support and in extremely critical condition after suffering extensive head injuries in the accident. The rookie officer's police cruiser rolled while he was responding to a domestic-violence call in south Phoenix.
Salmon, 22, has been with the department for six months.
On Monday afternoon, police officials described Salmon's condition as "extremely critical." He has extensive head injuries.
Salmon is a 2001 graduate of Hamilton High School in Chandler, where as a senior he was student body president.
Hamilton High School Principal Fred DePrez had no trouble remembering Salmon.
"He is just a great kid," said DePrez. "He really cared about people, and they all loved him right back."
As a student, Salmon was better known for his sense of humor than his sense of law and order.
"He was about the last kid you would expect to be a cop," DePrez said with a laugh. "The second to last thing you would expect him to be is a teacher."
At 12:52 a.m. Monday, Salmon radioed in that he was responding to a domestic-violence call in south Phoenix.
He was traveling west on Baseline Road when he tried to turn onto 31st Avenue. He lost control of his vehicle.
At 12:58 a.m., a resident called police to report an accident. It was Salmon. He was extricated from his car by the Phoenix Fire Department and transported to a hospital.
Phoenix police are investigating the accident.
Shortly after he was taken to the hospital, Salmon's parents and fiancee arrived and spent the day by his side.
The domestic-violence call was considered a "hot" or "Priority 1" call, which means the suspect was still on location, and the scene was still considered dangerous.
Salmon, who worked out of the South Mountain Precinct, would be getting to the location as quickly as he could, according to police spokeswoman Sgt. Lauri Williams.
The car's emergency lights were still flashing several hours after the accident.
"We're a really big department," Phoenix Police Cmdr. Kim Humphrey said. "But we are very small right now. We are very concerned."
As a high school student Salmon worked for charities as well as being in the student government. As a junior he helped collect food for St. Mary's Food Bank in Phoenix.
As a senior he worked with elementary and junior high school students to encourage them to develop school spirit and to stay motivated.
"He was an extremely likeable high school kid," DePrez said.
Republic reporter John Faherty contributed to this report.
