Thursday marks six years since the downtown Dallas shooting that killed five police officers.
Members of the Dallas Police Department as well as the families of the fallen officers will mark the somber anniversary with a private ceremony out front of the department headquarters.
The officers who were killed were Brent Thompson of Dallas Area Rapid Transit police, and four officers from the Dallas Police Department - Michael Krol, Lorne Ahrens, Michael Smith and Patrick Zamarripa.
Each of the five officers was working a Black Lives Matter protest march on the night of July 7, 2016, in downtown Dallas when a lone gunman ambushed the event. In addition to the five officers who were killed, 9 other people were shot.
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Enrique Zamarripa, his wife and young son walked through downtown Dallas before making his yearly trip to the cemetery on Thursday.
“I’m here for his memory,” he said of his son Dallas police officer Patrick Zamarripa. “He was a very humble guy. He was very patient, kind. He would give you the shirt off his back.”
The buildings downtown, including Dallas College formerly known as El Centro College, will forever be a reminder of that dark day, he says.
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It was the single greatest loss of DPD officers ever.
“The events of July 7, 2016, forever changed our beloved Dallas Police Department,” said Chief Eddie Garcia during a memorial service at police headquarters Thursday morning.
The department paused to pray and reflect on the five lives lost.
“Those five officers were truly unafraid,” said Garcia. “They went face to face against pure evil, risking their lives to keep our city safe. They are heroes. They are warriors.”
Garcia says in the years since the deadly attack, the department has held trainings and debriefings, but one thing cannot be taught.
“One of the things that’s lost is, I can’t train bravery,” he said. “The men and women in this department are incredibly brave. If there was ever any indication of what bravery looks like, you look back on 7/7.”
Police killed the suspect using a robot with an explosive device following an hours-long standoff. It is believed to be the first time that a police department has used a robot to kill a suspect.
