The Fragility of Life – Gordon Beesley
I was only in Alaska a week when the call came. On June 21, 2021 Officer Gordon Beesley was murdered in Arvada. I had joined the Colorado Fallen Hero Foundation as a volunteer when the mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado occurred. It had only been 90 days and we were being deployed again to yet another tragedy.
When I originally signed on to stand watch over the memorials of fallen officers I thought I would be the right kind of candidate because I would not personally know the officers and would not have the overwhelming sense of loss those closer to them would feel. I’ve learned how naive I can be at times.
Here is who I’ve met so far this week…
Three brothers, each two years apart, who had Officer Beesley as their School Resource Officer (SRO) over a six year period. They stood in front of his cruiser in tears as their mom stood next to them, heartbroken that her children were suffering such a senseless loss for a man that meant so much to them.
An alcoholic that Officer Beesley arrested seven years ago. Not coincidentally the man just celebrated seven years of sobriety. He credits Officer Beesley with helping him turn his life around.
An Arvada staff member who figured she’d give Gordo a hug next time she saw him because she was busy on Monday morning. There will not be a next time.
Two sisters, now women, who met Officer Beesley when they were children. It was when their father was removed from their household. The girls felt lost so he would come to their home on his own time and play board games, talking to them and mentoring them.
Two teenage girls who graduated from the Arvada Teen Police Academy just two weeks ago and had Officer Beesley as their instructor, neither able to make sense of their loss.
A group of teachers from schools he served who told me how they talked him into speaking at the “Your Changing Life (Body)” classes because they knew how embarrassed he would be and yet how well the kids would listen to him. We laughed a lot as they told how much he would blush.
A man who was so grateful that just the other day, when the car his wife and daughter were driving in at night broke down, Officer Beesely stopped and got them to safety.
All of the Arvada officers who have stopped to speak to me and across the board have said, “Why him? He was better than all of us. Why him?” when in reality he was just like all of them. A hero every day.
So what have I learned? That you do not need to know someone to feel a sense of loss. My life, and all of ours, is just a little dimmer for not having met Officer Gordon Beesley. All of these fine men and women deserve better from us. Please take the next opportunity you are near one to acknowledge that. It will mean the world to them. We all owe them that.
