Politics
Boulder cop Eric Talley killed in store massacre left six-figure IT job to join force after friend’s tragic DUI death
BOULDER cop Eric Talley, who was killed in the Colorado store massacre, left a six-figure IT job to join police force.
Talley, 51, made the career change after a close friend’s tragic DUI death, friends and family revealed.
Officer Eric Talley, who was one of ten victims killed in a mass shooting on Monday, left a six-figure job in IT to become a cop[/caption]
Veronica Hebert places flowers on Officer Talley’s car following the mass shooting[/caption]
Friends and family are mourning the loss of the slain officer and the nine others who lost their lives[/caption]
The slain cop was one of ten people killed when a gunman opened fire in a King Soopers grocery store on Monday.
Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Jeremy Herko spoke with The Denver Post about what “propelled” his best friend’s career change.
Herko – who met Talley when the duo were both in the police academy over ten years ago – said the fallen officer left a job in information technology where he earned over six figures.
Friends and family said the switch came when he was after his friend died in a DUI crash, The Washington Post reported.
Herko called Talley’s career path change “remarkable.”
The revelation comes as:
- Ten people died in a gun massacre at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado.
- Witnesses said a man in tactical body armor shot victims one by one with a rifle during the rampage.
- A bearded suspect wearing only his underwear and covered in blood was led away in handcuffs.
- Police revealed the name of the alleged gunman, Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, who has now been charged with murder.
- Boulder police officer Eric Talley, 51, was among those killed as he responded to reports of an active shooter.
- The names of the 10 victims killed in the massacre have been revealed.
- It was revealed Alissa was allegedly known by the FBI prior to the shooting.
- President Biden called for tighter gun checks as it was reported the alleged shooter bought the gun days before the massacre.
“He lost pay. He lost time away from his family. He joined the police academy without a guaranteed job,” he told the outlet.
Talley’s sister, Kirstin Brooks, shared a heartbroken post on social media after her brother’s death.
Police and emergency responders saluted as a line of police cars escorted Talley’s body[/caption]
The shooting happened at a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colorado on Monday[/caption]
A mourner is seen paying respects to Talley at a memorial[/caption]
“I cannot explain how beautiful he was and what a devastating loss this is to so many,” Brooks said.
“Fly high my sweet brother.”
Speaking to The Washington Post, Brooks described her brother as someone who had always been protective.
“I honestly know my brother, when he heard there was a shooting in a supermarket, I know his first thought was, ‘There are kids in there,’ ” Brooks told the outlet.
She added that her brother – who had seven children together with his wife – “loved kids.”
“I know Eric would have wanted to save every single one of those lives. I know why he flew in there first, because he was thinking, there are families in that store,” she told the outlet.
Talley was one of ten victims killed in the shooting at King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colorado on Monday.
Denny Strong, 20, Neven Stoanisic, 23, Rikki Olds, 25, Tralona Bartkowiak, 49, Suzanne Fountain, 59, Teri Leiker, 51, Officer Eric Talley, 51, Kevin Mahoney, 61, Lynn Murray, 62, Jody Waters, 65 were the 10 victims.
Talley responded to reports of an active shooter around 2.30pm – and was fatally shot as he ran in to tackle the gunman.
Police were seen taking the gunman into custody, leading him out of the grocery store as he wore nothing but shorts.
Cops have identified the alleged shooter as 21-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa.
Alleged gunman Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa was taken into custody. He faces charges for ten counts of murder[/caption]
Alissa faces 10 murder charges in the Monday massacre.
A huge line of cars was seen escorting Talley’s body after he was gunned down.
Emergency responders stood shoulder-to-shoulder and saluted as the procession went through the horror-struck city.
Pictures showed Talley’s car covered in flowers on Tuesday, in a memorial to the slain officer.
Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said Talley “was, by all accounts, one of the outstanding officers at the Boulder Police Department and his life was cut far too short.”
The slain cop’s father, Home, told The Denver Channel that Talley “took his job as a police officer very seriously.
He said his son loved his family “more than anything” and that he “was looking for a job to keep himself off the front lines.”
Most read in News
Following the shooting, President Biden called for tighter background checks for gun purchases.
He also hailed Talley as a hero, saying: “When he pinned on that badge yesterday morning, he didn’t know what the day would bring.”
“Those were folks who died left behind families and theres’a a big hole in their hearts.”
