A Minnesota community is mourning Scott Patrick, a 49-year-old police officer shot to death during a traffic stop Wednesday, with many people coming forward to talk about the impact he had on those who met him.
Patrick’s brother, Mike Brue, went to the area where Patrick was shot in an attempt to understand what happened, and to see the memorials that people have set out for his brother.
"I thought it would help me a little bit, help me understand,"
Brue told the Star Tribune. “I wanted to go by, to see. But, to be frank, I’m still trying to absorb it, the simplicity of it. But I see the symbolism. ”
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He was moved by the memorials. “I think they understand the frailty of it all,” he said. “That someone can take life in an instant.”
The Star Tribune relayed stories about residents' encounters with the police officer, whether it was a café owner who saw him every day and called him a “great, good, cool guy,” or a man helped by Patrick in his capacity as an officer after his house burned down.
Others described him as funny and friendly.
“He would put people at ease, make it more friendly,” retired Mendota Heights
police investigator Mario Reyes told KAAL of Patrick.
A woman who was a hit-and-run victim said Patrick was on the scene with her.
“You could tell he wanted to take control but wanted to be comforting and let me know I was safe,” Adreon Morgan told KAAL, adding that Patrick came to visit her in the hospital. “He was the father figure. He was comforting.”
“Everything people are saying about him is true. With Scott, what you saw was what you got. He liked to put people at ease,” Brue told the Star Tribune. “So, when I got here, I had to see [the memorial]. Because I just want to store as much as I can in the memory bank.”
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