Devastated wife of Ohio officer killed in line-of-duty reveals his last words: 'Tell my family I love them'
The wife of an Ohio police officer who was shot and killed in the line-of-duty on Independence Day has revealed that his final words were about him loving his family. The shooting unfolded after Anthony Dia, of the Toledo Police Department, responded to a call regarding an intoxicated male walking around the parking lot of the Home Depot at 1035 W. Alexis Road shortly after midnight on July 4, according to a press release.
Upon reaching the scene, Dia approached the man to check on his safety. Witnesses said they saw the man turn around and fire a round from a handgun at the officer without any provocation. Other officers who then reached the store rushed Dia, who was wearing his department-issued body armor, to the ProMedica Toledo Hospital, where doctors could not save him. Dia succumbed to his injuries.
Additional officers were dispatched to the scene of the shooting and set up a perimeter to look for the suspect, who was later identified as 57-year-old Edward Henry, who had bench warrants out for his arrest on misdemeanor offenses of disorderly conduct for public intoxication, public indecency, and menacing. After witnesses said they saw Henry flee into a wooded area, a drone and a K-9 unit were called to assist in the search. As officers looked for him, they heard a gunshot coming from the wooded area, and around 3.15 am, found Henry deceased from an apparent gunshot wound to the head.
His wife, Jayme Dia, said she had talked to her husband just eight minutes before the incident and that she initially thought there had been a mistake when she was informed that he had been shot in the chest. She said she desperately tried to call his phone before going to the hospital to verify the news. "He bled out, pretty much. They did what they could with lifesaving measures, but there was nothing they could do," she told the Toledo Blade, adding that she wanted him to be remembered for his dedication to his family.
"The last thing he said over the radio was, 'Tell my family I love them,'" she shared. "He lived for his family, and he loved, just loved, being a police officer." The news of his death quickly spread throughout the city, with many making their way to the Home Depot to convert it into a makeshift memorial in his honor. Toledo Police Chief George Kral later paid tribute to the fallen officer, who had joined the department in July 2018 and became the 31st Toledo Police Officer to be killed in the line of duty since 2007.
"Today is a sad day for the City of Toledo, it’s a sad day for the Toledo Police Department, and most importantly it’s a sad day for the family, friends, loved ones, and fellow officers of officer Anthony Dia, who paid the ultimate sacrifice in protecting his city tonight," Kral said. Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said that, to his "dying day," he would not "forget the sight of Officer Dia being wheeled out of the hospital on a gurney, his body wrapped in an American flag, flanked by about 30 Toledo police officers saluting and weeping."
Dia leaves behind his wife and two young sons, aged six and eight. A GoFundMe page set up in his name has raised over $164,000 at the time of writing.