x
Breaking News
More () »

Quad City woman remembers shooting victim Deputy Brad Garafola as a ‘sweetie pie’

Although Baton Rouge is 900 miles away, a  Quad City woman has known Deputy Brad Garafola since he was a young boy, and says she can’t believe someone who...

Although Baton Rouge is 900 miles away, a  Quad City woman has known Deputy Brad Garafola since he was a young boy, and says she can't believe someone who was loved so much could die because of hate.

"Since grade school, our boys played football together," said Sharon Wassenhove of East Moline, who lived in Baton Rouge for 30 years before moving back to the Quad Cities in 2000.

"He cared about people, he didn't care what color you were, he cared about people, and keeping people safe.  For this to happen because he wanted to serve and protect people, and now he's gone," she said.

Wassenhove heard about the shootings early Sunday, but the names of the victims had not yet been released, so she called Brad's mom in Baton Rouge to make sure he was alright.

"And, I said is Brad okay, and she said 'no he's dead', and I..... I couldn't believe it," she said.

Deputy Garafola was a 24-year law enforcement veteran, married and a father of four.

"They were supposed to be leaving on vacation yesterday, he was working one more shift and his wife was coming to meet him after the shift," she said.

"He was a sweetie pie. When my husband died down there, he made sure he came every night and checked on me and my daughter at my house," she said.

She says she is upset watching national news coverage because broadcasters  unknowingly continue to mispronounce his name.

"They keep saying Brad Ga-ROF-a-lo. It's GAR-a-fola. They should pronounce his name right," she said.

"It's horrendous. All because of hate. You know what? Black lives, blue lives, it doesn't matter. All lives matter. All of them matter, and we have to start realizing that. I never thought would have thought we would live in this kind of world," she said.

Before You Leave, Check This Out