Mountain Brook police travel to Dallas for funeral of fallen officer

Mountain Brook Police Officer Rozetha Burrow said she begins every day with the same thought. As she puts on her police uniform each morning, the same question runs through her mind: “I don’t know if I’m coming home today.”

Burrow, who has been a police officer for more than 13 years — more than six of which she has served with Mountain Brook — said it’s a thought that probably every other officer in the nation feels every day as well.

As she watched news of the deadly shooting involving police in Dallas, Texas back in July, Burrow said her thoughts circled back around to that question and especially, to her friend and Dallas Police Officer K.M. Lewis. Burrow said Lewis, who is originally from Birmingham, is her best friend and had recently taken part in her wedding.

“I had been speaking with her on the phone all week following the shooting,” said Burrow, referring to the July 7 shooting when a suspect, later identified as Micah Xavier Johnson, opened fire on police during what began as a peaceful protest in Downtown Dallas. Johnson killed five officers, wounded seven other officers and two civilians.

When she learned from Lewis that the Dallas Police Department had yet to receive any showings of support from officers in Alabama, Burrow said she approached Police Chief Ted Cook.

“I asked Chief if we could send flowers to show our support,” said Burrow.

Chief Cook’s answer, she said, was better than she could have ever expected.

“He asked if I wanted to go to Dallas and show our support in person,” she said.

A few days later, Burrow, along with Mountain Brook Officer Racquel “Rocky” Osborn, loaded up in a Mountain Brook police car and headed to Dallas. They, along with thousands of other officers from around the nation, took part in the funeral procession of fallen Dallas Police Officer Patrick Zamarripa on Saturday, July 16. Mountain Brook’s police car, along with countless others from around the nation, joined in on the procession.

Burrow said it did not matter that neither she nor Osborn personally knew Zamarripa.

“He was our fellow brother, he was still family,” said Burrow. “We were there to show our support for Dallas, to show that we are one. When they hurt, we hurt.”

Burrow said by the time she and Osborn arrived in Dallas, the support for police, not only from other officers but from the community as well, was palpable. It’s that support, said Burrow, felt in Dallas and from the community back home, that makes her job easier.

“Just hearing from people, ‘we support you,’ is enough,” she said.

The trip to Dallas, said Burrow, taught both she and Osborn “so much.”

“The news that came out of Dallas makes you more aware,” said Burrow, “more alert. It makes you reevaluate everything in life.”

Back at home, Burrow said she tried like she always does, to share advice with her fellow officers.

“I told them to continue being who they are,” she said, “and continue doing what you are doing. I reminded them they are still good officers, to treat people with respect and care and to remember their values and mission.”

She also took time to ask herself another question, she said.

“I asked myself, ‘Is there anything I can do to better deal with the community and my fellow officers?’ It’s an every day thing,” she said, “trying to be the best I can be each time I put on the uniform.”

Burrow said she is thankful to work for a department with the kind of leadership and diversity it has — the kind that would allow her to travel to Dallas to spread the support she feels every day.

And especially, Burrow said she is thankful for the community she serves.

“The community has always stepped up to show they love and support us,” said Burrow, “even before Dallas, from handwritten cards to pictures and food. We thank the community for helping us get through our hard times.”