Fallen Officer: Community Members Gather At Memorial Outside Arvada Police Department To Mourn Death Of Officer Gordon Beesley
ARVADA, Colo. (CBS4) -- Erik Persson is still in disbelief his friend and neighbor, Arvada Police Officer Gordon Beesley, was killed in the line of duty on Monday in a shooting in Olde Town Arvada.
"I had to read the name a few times just to believe that it was true," Persson told CBS4's Andrea Flores. "We're in the same neighborhood as the King Soopers shooting earlier this year, and it's fresh on everyone's minds."
Persson says their tight-knit neighborhood in Boulder can't believe tragedy is hitting close to home, yet again.
"I know his wife and his two boys really well and just could not stop thinking about them, and everyone in my community that knows him well," said Persson.
Throughout the day, people in Arvada stopped by the growing memorial outside the Arvada Police Department, including past and present students from Oberon Middle School, where Beesley was a school resource officer.
"His hellos helped me get through the day," said former Oberon Middle School Student, Jaylee Robertson. "We're all really sad that he's gone now. He would always just make sure we're okay."
Hether Florman, an Olde Town Arvada salon owner, delivered dinner to police officers working around the clock.
"There's so much bad going on, and why people do this, I just don't understand," Florman said.
Those who knew Officer Beesley well say he was more than just a badge.
"At the end of the day, he cared about people, and that's what the job meant for him," said Persson.
