Teen pays tribute to slain St. Louis cop who saved him from fire in 2003: 'I was hoping to meet the guy again one day'
A boy who was once saved by St. Louis cop Michael Langsdorf has come forward to pay tribute to him after the officer died on duty on June 23. The now 18-year-old KeAndre Colenburg was all of two years old when he met Langsdorf — and it was in the worst possible situation. His house caught on fire in 2003 and his father had to drop him to responding officers below. Conlenburg had fallen into the arms of Longsdorf, clinging on to him for safety while the officer delivered him safely out of harm's way.
Holding up a clipping of the newspaper that showed him on the front page, he said, pointing to an old copy of St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper, "That's me." The photo showed the cop holding the little boy, who looked confused and terrified. "The police officer is actually the one who caught me," said Colenburg, "It was kind of heartbreaking because I was hoping to meet the guy again one day because he did kind of save my life. It’s really sad," he added.
Although he has very little recollection of the fire, he revealed that Langsdorf had come to visit them in the hospital to check up on them after the incident. "That was just so nice of him to come check up on us, see how we were doing," he said.
The officer was shot on duty on Sunday, June 23, while responding to a complaint about someone trying to pass off a bad cheque at a food market. The 40-year-old was shot by the suspect, who was later identified as 26-year-old Bonette Kymbrelle Meeks.
He had worked as a police officer for over 17 years. After arriving at the food market, he was shot within minutes. Meeks was charged on Monday, June 24, with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, unlawful possession of a firearm and resisting arrest. Meeks is jailed without bond and does not yet have a listed attorney.
A clerk of the restaurant, Kashina Harper, went on to live stream the aftermath of the killing on Facebook, drawing controversy and criticism.