PHOENIX — The Maricopa County Sheriff's Lake Patrol Unit at the Blue Point Station wears their badges with honor and pride, but beyond that badge they are family.
They serve side-by-side through the joys of justice and sorrows of loss. Right now, their family is grieving the loss of one of their own.
“As far as processing it, I don’t know if we have,” said Capt. David Lee. The captain and others are mourning their fellow teammate, Lt. Chad Brackman.
It's been nearly a week since the 22-year veteran was tragically killed in an accident while working an off-duty traffic control assignment in Scottsdale. A driver collided with Brackman in a construction area last Wednesday.
Brackman's funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at Red Mountain LDS Institute in Mesa.
“We compartmentalize really well, but not this time. I’m as hard as anybody can be but not this time," said Deputy Jeff Hansen as tears filled his eyes.
His colleagues described Brackman as a servant to his department and family. He was selfless and good.
The lieutenant studied architecture, but he built a life of service.
“Being out here in Lake Patrol, he loved it so much that he just kept going,” Hansen said.
Plaques remain on Brackman's office wall along with pictures of his wife Melissa and their four children. His reading glasses still lay on his desk.
“I don’t know why but somebody left on the light and any time I saw the light I knew he was in there," Sgt. Gilchrist said. "The other day I sat my food down and starting walking to the office, then stopped and turned around,” remembering he wasn't there.
“It’s a loss for the whole community. For citizens. For law enforcement,” Gilchrist said.
Even though their brother is gone, Brackman's teammates and family are holding onto his grace and sense of humor as their guiding light to push them forward.
“He was my friend and my boss," Clark said. "He handled things with grace, not a mean bone in his body.”
"Those memories and those little things that keep popping up are helping us process and remember who he was,” Lee said.
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