Dallas cop killed in attack survived three tours in Iraq

Zamarripa’s father said he was watching television Thursday evening when the news broke about sniper fire at peaceful protests in downtown Dallas.

They were military veterans, husbands and fathers who served the city of Dallas – and died protecting the rights of fellow Americans to criticize their brethren in blue.

Patrick’s family said his life was one devoted to serving others, and he joined the Dallas Police Department about five years ago.

“He wouldn’t tell me”, the elder Zamarripa said.

“I was greeted by one of his partners that he graduated (with) at the police academy, and I said, ‘How’s Patrick doing?'” Rick Zamarripa recalled.

Cuba Gooding Jr. cried after hearing that he’d met Patrick Zamarripa, one of the five police officers who was shot and killed in Dallas on Thursday, July 7. Patrick Zamarripa’s two young children will have to grow up, graduate high school, go on to college – without him.

“He was here protecting those people in the rally”, said Rick Zamarripa. “And they take his life”. “He had that look on his face. He’s a big hero now”, said the grieving father.

“Patrick was a Mexican American”, Rick Zamarripa said.

The married father with a 2-year-old daughter was an avid sports fan and known around the community.

‘I finally found the love of my life and now have to endure a lifetime without my lobster’.

“My buddy”, Zamarripa called him. “He never talked about his job to us, he always kept that to himself because he didn’t want us worrying about what he was going through … but as a mother, I anxious”.

He tweeted photos of her on the day after she was born in 2013.

A friend, Rick said, had recently asked Zamarripa if he was interested in a job with the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

“Da da”, he heard her cry. Johnson was killed by a police-guided robot using a small explosive charge after a standoff with police.