In Memory of
Officer Joselito 'Lito' Barber

The mementos left at the corner of 23rd Avenue South and East Yesler Way underscored how one man can touch the lives of people he's never met.

Amid the bouquets of white gladioluses, lilies and purple chrysanthemums were notes, some from friends, but many from people rookie Officer Joselito Barber had never met. All paid tribute to a man who died just months after realizing his dream of becoming a Seattle police officer.

On Monday afternoon, Barber's friends and family — including seven former co-workers from his days as a loss-prevention officer at the Seattle Home Depot — clustered around the sidewalk memorial. They added an orange Home Depot apron to the memorial, a teddy bear and photos. They held each other, cried and reminisced.

"He loved his job so much," said his uncle Edwin Barber. "He's a good boy. A good boy."

Barber, 26, was alone on duty at 23rd and Yesler early Sunday when an SUV, traveling 80 mph, sailed through the red light and broadsided his patrol car. Barber died instantly. The 31-year-old driver of the SUV, identified as Mary Jane Rivas, was arrested and taken to the hospital with a broken leg and other injuries.
(Excerpts from Seattle Times August 15, 2006 )

Seattle police officers wait outside Bonney-Watson Funeral Home on Capitol Hill for the vehicle carrying the body of Seattle police Officer Joselito Barber to arrive Monday afternoon.
Photo by ELLEN M. BANNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Barber grew up in Seattle, graduated from O'Dea High School in 1998 and the University of Washington in 2004. He was engaged to be married. "We are extremely proud of him," said another uncle, Ron Barber. "He will be sadly missed by his family."

Barber always wanted to be a police officer and graduated from the academy five months ago.

"He was always talking about that," said Pilar Kunzelman, who worked with him at Home Depot.

Speeding SUV broadsides police car, kills patrolman
By Kathy F. Mahdoubi
Seattle Times staff reporter

A 26-year-old Seattle police officer, five months out of the academy, was killed early Sunday in the Central District after an SUV came barreling through a red light at 80 mph and smashed into his patrol car, police said.

The SUV's driver, a 31-year-old woman, suffered a broken leg and ankle. She is under house arrest at Harborview Medical Center.

A police source said the woman has four outstanding arrest warrants, including one for driving under the influence. Her name will be released today if charges are filed in the crash.

Police identified the officer Monday morning as Joselito Barber.

"Fellow officers and the community describe Officer Barber as caring and conscientious, and while new to the force, say he will be greatly missed," the department said in a press release Monday.

"This was a young man who loved being a police officer and served our city with honor and commitment," Mayor Greg Nickels said in a news release Sunday. "His loss will be deeply felt by everyone who knew and loved him."

Barber was alone on routine patrol, driving north on 23rd Avenue South through a green light about 4 a.m. Sunday, when the woman's GMC Yukon, heading east on East Yesler Way, broadsided his car, said police spokesman Sean Whitcomb.

Two patrol officers in separate cars, responding to a call in the 1900 block of East Yesler, said they saw the Yukon going about 80 mph before it struck Barber's car, killing him instantly. The speed limit in the area is 30 mph.

The two officers and medics from a fire station across the street arrived at the scene immediately. Barber could not be revived.

Whitcomb said he did not believe the police car had a side-impact air bag.

Police first thought the crash was a hit-and-run, because a witness reported seeing a woman fleeing the SUV. Police now believe the woman found inside the car was the driver.

Late Sunday night, Officer H.W. Dentinger stood vigil on the sidewalk near the site of the crash, black tape across his badge, his arms behind him, hands clasped. In front of him, the blue, red and white lights of his parked police car flashed.

When Dentinger's shift was over, other officers would relieve him.

About a dozen bouquets of flowers were beside him, left by people throughout the day, along with a foil balloon of a smiling yellow and orange sun, and a lone shining candle.

"I'm sorry for your loss and thank you for all that you do," said Gary Williamson as his wife, Connie, gave Dentinger a hug. The couple live nearby.

"My husband and I tell every law-enforcement officer we see how much we care," Connie Williamson said.

"Are you from a law-enforcement family?" Dentinger asked.

"No," she said. "It's about respect."

Officer Gary Lindell

Gary Lindell spent a long career at with the Seattle Police Department, working as a Patrol Officer until he was promoted as a Detective in 1972.  In 1997 he joined the mounted patrol (horse) unit. In March of 2000, Gary fell from his horse during a training exercise and sustained a head injury, requiring him to be hospitalized for three weeks in critical condition. Officer Lindell survived the accident, but the effects from the fall caused him to retire in November 1999. He came back to SPD as a civilian employee, working as an evidence warehouser and then a utility laborer. In March of 2002, lingering complications from his earlier head injury caused his death.

Jackson V. Lone

On March 16, 2005, Harbor Patrol Officer Jackson V. Lone was responding to a call on the Lake Union waterway. He went ashore to tie off a tugboat and fell into the water. He was pulled from the water by his partner, and response crews from Harbor Patrol and the North Precinct begin to do CPR. Officer Lone was treated by the Seattle Police Department medics and then transported to Harborview Medical Center, where he later died. Officer Lone, 39 years of age and an 18-year veteran of the Seattle Police Department, worked in a variety of assignments including patrol in the East Precinct, Narcotics Unit and Fugitive Warrants Unit, as well as a year-long assignment with the DEA Task Force.