Fairfax County police paid tribute on Tuesday to the first two of their number to be shot and killed in the line of duty, remembering Detective Vicky Armel and Master Police Officer Michael Garbarino one year after the Sully station shooting.
Officers, county officials, family and others gathered at an afternoon ceremony that included a bagpiper and a fly-over by two police helicopters at the western Fairfax County police station.
The station became a scene of violence unparalleled in the area’s recent history on May 8, 2006, when heavily armed 18-year-old gunman Michael Kennedy drove a stolen van into the station’s back parking lot and opened fire on officers.
“It’s like opening up an old wound,” said Fairfax Coalition of Police President Marshall Thielen, describing the emotions that the anniversary evoked within the department.
Community support following the event has been “overwhelming,” he said, with large memorial funds established for the families of both officers. Both Armel’s and Garbarino’s parking spots have been converted into memorials and their names were recently engraved on the wall of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in the District, among other tributes.
“All across the board — from fourth-grade scout troops to Fortune 500 companies, the outpouring has been just incredible,” said Fairfax County Supervisor Michael Frey, who represents the Sully District.
Over the course of the year, the full picture of a hectic, traumatic day emerged as police revealed details on how Kennedy was eventually stopped.
Garbarino, who sat in his cruiser, was the first to be hit, but sent out a warning through his radio. Armel, who was leaving the police station, shot at Kennedy but was killed in the ensuing gunfight.
Two other officers quietly moved to a nearby woods and took the gunman down by firing through a chain-link fence.
Garbarino died just over a week after the shooting.
“One year ago today our lives changed forever,” read a posting for Garbarino on the Officer Down Memorial Page, a Web site dedicated to slain law enforcement officers. “You were a brave and strong fighter, you fought for your life, and yet at the same time you saved the lives of so many officers, Thank you my hero always.”
Kennedy’s father, who is accused of helping his son acquire one of the guns, is awaiting trial in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, which is set for August.
