Officer killed in Seattle was living his ‘dream’
SEATTLE – A 26-year-old rookie officer killed when his police car was hit by a sport utility vehicle was identified Monday as Joselito Barber.
Barber’s fellow officers said he was enthusiastic about starting his career with the police department, and although he was new to the force he will be greatly missed.
Barber was killed Sunday when his car was hit by a sport utility vehicle that reportedly barreled through a red light at about 80 mph.
A 31-year-old woman was arrested and remained under police watch while being treated at Harborview Medical Center for a broken left leg and ankle, Officer Sean P. Whitcomb said.
The young officer “was fulfilling a lifelong dream of being a police officer,” his uncle Ron Barber told reporters Monday at an impromptu memorial at the crash scene.
“He was extremely proud to be a Seattle police officer,” Ron Barber said.
Officer Barber was driving north on 23rd Avenue on routine patrol and had a green light when his cruiser and the SUV, eastbound on Yesler Way, collided about 4 a.m. Sunday, Whitcomb said.
Barber was the eighth officer in the city to die on duty in the past 30 years. The last death of a Seattle police officer on duty occurred on March 16, 2005.
“Two officers in two years: It’s just hard on this department,” Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said.
Barber had been on the job for two months after completing the six-month police academy and was engaged to be married, police said.
“This is a tragedy that could have happened to anybody. It’s our misfortune that it’s a friend and colleague,” Whitcomb said.
Whitcomb said investigators believe the 3-ton SUV may have been going as fast as 80 mph when it smashed into the police Ford Crown Victoria, which was knocked over a streetlight and past a covered bus stop.
Medics at a fire station across the street needed power tools to remove the battered patrol car’s door and were unable to revive the officer.
Mayor Greg Nickels directed that flags in the city be lowered to half-staff.