'He was a peace officer:' Law enforcement community mourns fallen Temple officer
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Two police departments that work side by side are now grieving together.
Temple University and Philadelphia police officers are devastated over the loss of Temple officer Christopher Fitzgerald.
Officers took a moment Monday to stand in silence next to others who wiped away tears at the memorial in honor of the fallen officer.
Law enforcement officials said that a board member of the Temple University police union started the memorial, which is located at West Montgomery Avenue and North Bouvier Street in North Philadelphia.
"At the end of the day, although, we wear a uniform as police officers, the commonality is that we're all human beings. We laugh and, in this instance, we're hurting, we're crying," said Philadelphia police Captain Michael Goodson.
Goodson, commanding officer of the Philadelphia Police 22nd District, said Officer Fitzgerald cared deeply about the community he served.
"He was a police officer or - should I say - he was a peace officer," Goodson said.
Goodson also said Fitzgerald's parents, who are both in law enforcement, mentored him as they rose through the ranks before moving on to other departments.
"We grieve with them. It's a loss that we can't measure in any capacity," Goodson said.
Fitzgerald was 31 years old.
He was shot and killed Saturday night while trying to stop a robbery at North 17th Street and West Montgomery Avenue, next to the 22nd precinct.
"Whenever you lose a life it's something that's substantial to all of us as police officers, but it just further reverberates when it comes to losing the life of a law enforcement officer," Goodson said. "It's something that we wish that no one has to go through, especially to the parents such as (his parents) Joel and Pauline and the entire family, (his wife) Marrisa. It's just a devastating loss."
Along with his parents and wife, Officer Fitzgerald leaves behind his four children.
The community isn't expecting this to get any easier over the course of the week as they continue to remember the officer's life.
