TOLEDO, Ohio — All day Sunday, people gathered at a temporary memorial to remember honor the life of Toledo police officer Anthony Dia, 26.
“My son died a hero,” said Tony “Younes” Dia.
Candles burned as flags, flowers and mementos decorated the memorial. On the Fourth of July, Dia responded to a call regarding an intoxicated man on the Fourth of July. The man identified as Edward Henry, 57, walked away from Dia, quickly turned around and fired the deadly shot.
The Toledo Police Department has not lost an officer in the line of duty since 2007 when detective Keith Dressel was shot and killed. Ronald Parton is a retired lieutenant who came by the memorial to pay his respects to another fallen hero.
“Oh it’s terrible. I lived through through Keith Dressel, when he was murdered and I was one of the cars on scene there,” Parton said. “It’s devastating to the officers. Anthony was a very young officer; he’d only been on two years, so you have a whole new generation of officers who are gonna have to live through this.”
Some residents who didn’t know Dia came to the memorial to pay their respects.
“Just thought it was the thing to do,” said Don Claar of Northwood. “He was one of our officers, praise to God.”
Dia is survived by his wife and two sons. A funeral will be held Tuesday in Toledo.