Officer Brandon Stalker, 24, of the Toledo Police Department, was killed on January 18, 2021, in Toledo, Ohio. He joined the department in July 2018 and graduated from the Toledo Police Academy in March 2019. Stalker coached baseball at Whitmer High School and was described as committed to his community and to mentoring young people.

The death occurred after Stalker responded to a call about vandalism and arson at the historic Rosary Cathedral. The suspect, 27-year-old Christopher Harris, had spray-painted racial statements on the church and set the doors on fire. When officers attempted to take Harris into custody he barricaded inside a home; after a chemical irritant was deployed Harris emerged holding two handguns and opened fire. Officer Stalker, assigned to perimeter duty, was struck in the head and later died; Harris was also killed in the shootout. The Lucas County Coroner’s Office ruled Stalker’s cause of death a gunshot wound to the head.

The department and community held memorial events and a GoFundMe was created to support his fiancée and two young children. Who has memories of Officer Stalker or additional details about the response to the Rosary Cathedral call to share?