Just as a moment of silence was ordered over the police radio in honor of Denver police Detective Donald Young, rain drops began to fall.
Before the drizzle came, it was a sunny morning outside the Salon Ocampo social hall where the 43-year-old officer and father of three was shot to death a year ago.
Hundreds of fellow officers, family members and friends gathered outside the banquet hall for the hanging of a memorial sign outside 1733 W. Mississippi Ave. to mark the anniversary.
Young was killed at 1 a.m. on May 8.
Raul Gomez-Garcia, 20, was extradited to Denver from Culiacan, Mexico where police say he tried to hide after the shooting. He is charged with killing Young and wounding his partner after being asked to leave a baptismal party.
It’s a Denver police tradition to hang a sign at the place where an officer was killed on the one-year anniversary of their death.
Inside the hall, at the spot where Young died, a St. Jude votive candle burned next to a bouquet of spring flowers. A gold crucifix glistened next to his smiling police photograph.
Ruben Huizar, the owner of Salon Ocampo where Young worked off-duty security for five years, said he placed that makeshift memorial inside as a sign of respect.
“He’s with me every day, every minute,” Huizar said. “With all the customers, he always had a big smile. He always got along with people.”
Young’s widow, Kelly Young, and their daughter, Kelsey, looked on as two city workers hung the memorial sign along the street.
Kelsey Young, 6, did not shed tears, but supported her mother as Kelly Young tried to hold her own sobs back.
Detective Jack Bishop – Young’s partner who was wounded the night of the shooting – cried behind dark sunglasses, his own shoulder being held onto by another officer.
Chief Gerry Whitman, Mayor John Hickenlooper, District Attorney Mitch Morrissey, Manager of Safety Al LaCabe, councilwomen Jeanne Faatz and Rosemary Rodriguez, Police Monitor Richard Rosenthal and at least 100 other officers also came to honor Young.
“He was a devoted husband and father, a skilled athlete and a practical joker,” Hickenlooper said. “The sign is a symbol of his life, his courage and his character. This is a sad day, but in many ways, a very powerful day.”
Kelly Young said her husband would be getting “a kick out of” the sign.
“It’s a great honor,” she said. “We are never going to forget this day. We want the people in this community to realize that Donnie loved working down here and we hope the people who drive by remember him.”
There are two more memorial services left for Young. His name will be inscribed on the Denver police memorial on May 19 along with 60 other officers. Also, on May 13 in Washington D.C. Young’s name will be added to the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial along with 466 others killed last year.
But Kelly Young said she does not necessarily need concrete momentos to think of her husband.
“I talk to him all the time in the car,” she said, laughing at what other people in traffic might think of her. “One of these days he’s going to answer me. He’s always going to be with us.”
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-820-1219 or at fcardona@denverpost.com.
