When Gloria Silva saw the squad cars and somber-faced officers outside her apartment, she knew her partner of 17 years, Raul Gallegos-Reyes, was gone.
“It’s something you can’t even believe,” she said in Spanish. “People should be safe in jail. I can’t explain it to myself.”
The couple’s children, Raul, 13, and Alberto, 9, were in northern Mexico visiting family when their father died at the Arapahoe County jail. They stayed in the state of Zacatecas to see their father’s body return to the modest ranch where he was born, the eldest son of 12 children.
Gallegos-Reyes’ mother hadn’t seen him in 10 years. She insisted her son be buried in Mexico so she could see him one last time.
When her boys came home to Colorado, Silva, 41, could see the anger growing in her older son. He told her he hates the police, and Silva said it’s hard for her to blame him. Sometimes when Silva mentions his father, Raul snaps that he doesn’t want to be reminded.
“How could they do this to a defenseless prisoner?” she asked. “If they aren’t punished, they’ll do it again. Now there are two children left without a father.”
Silva, who is from Honduras, works at Wal-Mart. Without her husband’s income, she isn’t sure how she’ll manage. But she is grateful for the support of her friends, her church congregation and Gallegos-Reyes’ siblings, who help her with the children’s expenses.
She said Gallegos-Reyes was a strict father. Although he worked 90 hours a week on construction, he made sure his sons dressed and behaved well. Sagging pants, tattoos and piercings were out of the question.
Gallegos-Reyes was calm and serious about most things, Silva said, except when it came to soccer.
“He would look for any kids he could find and take them to the park to play,” she said.
Gallegos-Reyes was so generous to friends, Silva had to scold him for giving away too much. She said he could build an entire house from the foundation to the paint job, and he loved helping friends with their projects.
“He was so good. That’s why I can’t understand how he died.”
But Gallegos-Reyes was a different person when he drank, and this caused problems in their relationship, Silva said. They had heated confrontations when he was drunk, and sometimes he cursed at her, but Silva says he never struck her.
The last time he was arrested, Silva remembers thinking it might be good for him to dry out for a few days. Maybe he’d learn a lesson and make some changes. She never imagined he wouldn’t come out.
Staff writer Katharine Bernuth can be reached at 303-954-1752 or kbernuth@denverpost.com.
