Police officer killed in line of duty honored with Selma monument. Father-to-be never met son
Selma police and supporters honored Gonzalo Carrasco Jr. with a monument Wednesday, the 1-year anniversary of the day the officer was gunned down in the line of duty.
Carrasco was the first ever officer killed on the job as part of the Selma Police Department, which was founded in 1893, officials have said.
“A year ago today, the Selma Police Department lost our brother,” Selma police Chief Rudy Alcaraz said during a ceremony. “Moreover, a year ago today, the world lost a kind, selfless man that committed his life to service and the world is lesser for it.”
Alcaraz charged those in attendance to live selflessly in honor of the slain officer.
The monument outside of Selma Police Department on Third Street quoted President John F. Kennedy. “A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on,” the quote says.
Carrasco was 24 and a father-to-be with his girlfriend, Karla Alvarez, but was slain about two months before the birth of their son, Maximus Gonzalo Carrasco. Alvarez is an officer with Dinuba police.
Carrasco’s badge number N111 was marked on a wreath next to the monument on Wednesday, and police wore patches with the same number.
An officer for about two years, Carrasco was driving in a Selma neighborhood about 11:45 a.m. Jan. 31, 2023, when a resident pointed his attention to a man on foot who police said was acting suspicious.
The officer made his approach and was shot to death by the suspect before Carrasco could pull his service weapon, police have said.
Alcaraz said several days after the slaying Carrasco was “essentially executed.”
Police said they arrested Nathaniel Dixon, 23, and accused him of the slaying the same day as the shooting. He has pleaded not guilty and remains in custody.
