A news story
appeared a few months ago about a beloved cop in New York who was referred to
as “G.I. Joe,” and who, (it was initially thought) succumbed to a bullet wound
while chasing three armed suspects across a field.
“Marco” had
a record of dedicated service in the Army, and in his free time led an
Explorer’s group. And thus, as I have previously inferred, he was highly loved
and respected in the community.
Having heard
the news reports this past summer, I, for one, was skeptical that everything
was as it seemed. I mean, according to his own radio call, the man just charged
off after three hypothetical suspects without waiting for backup. (Not the
brightest match in the box).
At any rate,
after Marco’s death the local police department conducted what amounted to a
hero’s funeral service, and of course, nearby, (and not so nearby) uniformed departments
sent representatives. And as in similar services across the nation, the “fallen
hero” was eulogized and lauded for having given the last full measure of
devotion. (In the meantime, a tremendous amount of money has been raised on behalf of the welfare and education of Marco's family).
Fast forward
several months.
In the past
24 hours, as Paul Harvey might have said, we learned
… the rest
of the story.
It is now
being reported that Marco
… staged his own suicide!
That is, an
internal police investigation has concluded that Marco was apparently chasing…
nobody the day he sustained the mortal wound, and that it was he who fired the
mortal bullet into his own body.
It has,
subsequently, come to light that the beloved Marco had been involved in the
criminal theft of thousands of dollars from the Explorer’s group with which he
had been involved, and that he had once suggested a “hit” on a local community
leader; in an attempt to cover up a preliminary investigation of the theft.
And thus,
the beloved patrolman’s ultimate plan to live and die a hero.
No doubt,
one of the most bizarre police stories of the decade.
I guess it
would be as difficult to annul that misconstrued hero’s funeral service, as it
would be to restore an amputated leg, or erase the results of a nuclear war.
No comments:
Post a Comment