Community shows its support
COEUR d’ALENE – They wore everything from cowboy hats to formal evening gowns Wednesday night to honor a newcomer to the Lake City who did nothing but his job.
More than 1,000 people bought tickets to the raffle and auction at the Coeur d’Alene Inn to raise money for the family of injured Coeur d’Alene police officer Michael Kralicek. And most had never met him.
“This is awesome,” former Coeur d’Alene police Chief Tom Cronin said. “Police officers don’t understand this. They see a small percentage of people over and over again.
“But every one of these cops’ hearts are 10 times bigger today because they know the community cares about them. This is the community they protect and serve every day paying them back.”
Carrie Kralicek stood at the door and greeted many of the guests who came to help pay for family expenses incurred by traveling to Seattle to spend time with her husband, who was shot in the face on Dec. 28.
Michael Kralicek, 35, was moved Jan. 21 from Harborview Medical Center in Seattle to Kootenai Medical Center.
“He’s doing very well,” Carrie Kralicek said. “He has short-term memory and long-term memory and he’s able to express his needs and wants.”
Kralicek was shot after he responded with two Kootenai County deputies to a home in Grouse Meadows in Hayden.
Kralicek and deputies Justin Bangs and Kevin Smart went there to question 38-year-old Michael Madonna about a theft and a hit-and-run collision. Madonna, who was handcuffed, somehow escaped, ran into his home and grabbed a loaded .357 Magnum revolver.
Madonna fired twice and deputies Bangs and Smart fired more than 20 times in a shootout that killed Madonna and seriously wounded Kralicek, who never got off a shot.
Carrie Kralicek commended the doctors and nurses who have helped her husband survive.
“Each day brings new challenges. But things get progressively better,” she said. “He has a long road.”
She thanked the crowd, which included everyone from regular citizens to retired police officers from both ends of the nation.
“Words are inadequate to describe this,” Carrie Kralicek said. “There’s no way I could ever repay it.”
The event started as a raffle with four posters, said Coeur d’Alene firefighter Jake Bieker. It grew in 21 days into a huge gala that overran the reserved facilities at the Coeur d’Alene Inn.
“Within a few days we knew we were going to be overwhelmed,” said Bieker, who had big help from the Northwest Women in Business Network.
Organizers willingly sold more than 1,000 tickets to a venue that could seat 600. They were hoping to raise $100,000, but the total was not available late Wednesday.
“This is a community event. We didn’t want to turn anyone away,” Bieker said. Much of that community Wednesday night was current and former officers.
Mike Abolafia, 48, moved to Sandpoint last year after 23 years on the Suffolk County Police Department in New York State. When he heard about the event, Abolafia said, he “bought more tickets then I knew what to do with.
“I think this is a great support network for the family,” said Abolafia, who was injured by a motorcycle while working as a police officer. “The more they collect, the more they help him get down that road. I think it’s terrific.”
John Lind, 50, worked 26 years as a police officer in Snohomish County before he retired last year to live in Hayden. He lost two kidneys while serving.
“I know about being off work, worrying about family and bills and how we are going to make it to the next month,” Lind said. “It’s really nice to see the community come out and take care of those trying to protect them.”