Sad.
I don't keep in touch very well with some of my friends that I had in the Marines.
So it came as a shock to me to find out one of them was shot and killed while on duty as a police officer last year.
Wife, 2 kids... This is a man who I partied with in Crete, Greece. We drank, puked, trolled for women... together.
It shows me that I need to get in touch with some of my friends. We were a tight-nit group down there. Our attitude was "Us against the world" which wasn't far from the truth, when there were only 40 some Marines on the entire island of Crete.
I miss those days (to an extent).
Briggs (the friend who was killed) adopted a street dog with another Marine. They brought him back to our barracks, and he basically became a unit mascot. However, since we were on a Navy base, the dog tended to adopt our attitude towards anyone who wasn't a Marine. We had to keep him inside, cause he would charge and bark at anyone who wasn't wearing camo fatigues.
We had to let him go back in town when the final straw was him charging the Captain of the base. (The Captain didn't like us to begin with). So, he'd see us in town when we were out drinking and whoring, and he would follow us around, and we'd feed him. Good ole T.J. Good dog, and Briggs loved him.
Semper Fi Michael. Semper Fi.
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http://www.odmp.org/officer.php?oid=18543
http://www.nhpr.org/node/11691
Officer Michael Leland Briggs
Manchester Police Department
New Hampshire
End of Watch: Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Biographical Info
Age: 35
Tour of Duty: 11 years
Badge Number: 83
Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: Monday, October 16, 2006
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Apprehended
Officer Michael Briggs succumbed to a gunshot wound inflicted the previous morning when he and his partner responded to a domestic disturbance call.
Both officers were on bicycle patrol and they located one of the participants in an alley at the corner of Lake and Lincoln Streets. Officer Briggs was shot in the head as he was questioning the male subject.
Officer Briggs was transported to Elliott Hospital, where he remained until succumbing to the wound.
The suspect fled the state but was arrested later in the day while hiding in his grandmother's home in Dorchester, Massachusetts. In an odd twist, it was discovered that the suspect was the same man who's life Officer Briggs had saved in 2003 following a shooting.
Officer Briggs was a US Marine Corps veteran and had served with the Manchester Police Department for 5 years. He had previously served as a correctional officer for the Hillsborough County Department of Corrections for 6 years. During his time as a correctional officer he had also served as a part-time officer with the Epsom Police Department.
Officer Briggs is survived by his wife, two sons, parents, and three sisters.