We're learning more about Detroit Police Officer Darren Weathers, a fallen hero, a father and a friend to so many.
The 25-year-old lost his life Tuesday morning, when a training exercise in Detroit took a tragic turn.
PHOTOS: Fallen DPD Officer Darren Weathers
Friends who are also fellow officers are speaking out, including one who was on duty when he got word of the crash and rushed to the hospital before hearing the news that his friend, who he was planning to see after his shift, didn’t make it.
”There’s certain things you can’t teach. It’s just in him. He has a light in him, says Ofc. Blake Moss.
Weathers’ impact is deep and far reaching. He earned the Medal of Valor for saving the life of another officer, impressive for just a year and a half on the force, but not surprising for his friends in blue.
“Genuine. A genuine heart for others. You just can’t, a lot of people don’t have it,” Moss says.
Moss says that heart shined in officer weathers from the get go.
“He served his country, I served my country, he serves his city I serve my city, so it was an instant connection,” he says.
Moss says no amount of training could help when learning the news that Weathers didn’t survive a horrific crash on Michigan Avenue near Clark late this morning.
“That’s very important to mentally prepare yourself for any situation - but this. When it’s somebody that you care about, somebody that you’re close with, you can never fully prepare yourself,” Moss says. “You know we’ve been trying to hit the gym for a week now and yesterday we established today we would be able to hit the gym together and actually get this working out together thing started. That’s another thing that really hurt, knowing that I talked to the guy hours before he passed away. It’s like I can still hear his voice, you know.”
For DPD this tragedy is just the latest in a string of in-the line of duty deaths this year.
“Losing Darren Weathers has just been a shot right to the throat to us. And its so hard to really put into words how we feel,” says Detroit Police Officers Association President Mark Diaz. “We’re devastated. And there’s no other word to use. We are absolutely devastated with the losses we’ve incurred. Unfortunately we have far too many of our officers are truly making that ultimate sacrifice.”
Weathers’ friends say he was one of the best among them.
“He’d want people to tell the truth. If he was a bad person, say he was a bad person. If he was a great person, like he was, say he was a great person,” says Moss. “That’s exactly what we’re going to do. We’re going to make sure his name carries a positive energy, so his daughter can know her dad was a hero. A literal hero because that’s what he was. And that’s what he is.”
Officer Weathers’ young daughter came from Georgia to spend time with him just this morning.
