Memorial For Fallen Officer Eric Talley Grows Greatly Day After King Soopers Shooting
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) - As hours passed by Tuesday evening, flowers and notes covered the patrol SUV which belonged to Boulder police officer Eric Talley. Sammie Lawrence IV survived the King Soopers shooting in Boulder.
"People were running and they were yelling, 'Gun, gun, gun,'" Lawrence said. "It was so heart wrenching to see loss come so quickly and just so rapidly. To see a life ended at the snap, and to know that this community has been scarred."
Lawrence honored Talley, the first officer on scene and one of 10 people killed, at a growing memorial outside Boulder Police Department.
"I wanted to show care and respect to someone I may not have known, but for the briefest moments in time, and he was there to be present for all of us and I am thankful," Lawrence told CBS4's Andrea Flores.
Talley had been with the department since 2010. Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold says Officer Talley's ultimate sacrifice comes as no surprise.
"He cared about this community. He cared about Boulder Police Department. He cared about his family, and he was willing to die to protect others," said Herold.
As people in the community continue to offer their thoughts and prayers, Lawrence says it's not enough.
"It's not just thoughts and prayers, because thoughts and prayers led to this shooting. Thoughts and prayers led to this, and the other people dead," said Lawrence.
As a survivor, Lawrence believes the victims, including Talley, deserve justice.
"For us to truly be an epitome of the United States that we say we are, we must be accountable. We must be aware that these things are happening, and take active measures to do something about this," Lawrence said.
