May 17, 2024 • 10 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, Diego Moreno was a fun-loving, high-intensity police officer, trainer, and father. Hear from his wife - and from his patrol partner - about the legacy he leaves for his children, and all of us, to remember and carry on.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
This is our American stories and its National Police Week
all week this week, and it's been happening in this
country since nineteen sixty two, and not nearly enough folks
in the media cover this. We do, and we honor
all of our first responders in this country, and of
course our men and women serving in uniform all around
the world, and we particularly pay homage to the people
(00:40):
who've paid the.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Ultimate price for their service.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
In late July twenty eighteen, in Kent, Washington, a disastrous
combination of fifteen and sixteen year olds alcohol and guns
resulted in a teenager leading the police on a high
speed chase, hitting speeds of ninety five miles per hour.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
At night.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Police officer Diego Marino got in front of the fleeing
truck and laid down spike strips to stop the dangerous chase.
After this beating truck spun out of control, Marino was
accidentally struck and killed by a pursuing police vehicle. A
week later, thousands from across the country gathered to celebrate
(01:20):
Moreno's life, and the procession stretched for over six miles.
His widow wanted everyone to see her goofy, big hearted
husband as she did.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
I'm Shelley Diego's wife. From what you know about Diego
and the way we have honored him today, it's easy
for you to see that Diego loved police work. But
there's one thing Diego loved more than that was being
a daddy. Although it was police work that ultimately took
Diego from us, it was police work that allowed him
to be the father that he was. While he was here,
(01:52):
Diego worked late swing, which rewarded him with daytime daddy's shift.
My phone used to ding every morning, and I would
take it out and find multiple Instagram messages of riotous
singing and dancing in the car while waiting in the
parking lot.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
For school to start.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Then, without complaint of his five hours of sleep, he
would walk our daughter to class and stand in line
with her until he saw her safely in the classroom. Then,
forty minutes later, my phone would dig again as the
process started all over again at preschool. To say he
was protective was an understatement, and he loved his children fiercely.
(02:31):
When Diego's boots were unlaced for the final time, more
evidence of fatherhood excellence was found. A fresh peticure in
primary Blue Diego had taken our daughter for petties just
last week, and she got to choose his color. He
was impressed that the lacquer made them so shiny. Diego's
(02:51):
childish enthusiasm for life was contagious. When playing sidewalk chalk,
he wouldn't just draw with the kids, He'd help them
make our dog walk into a pink striped zebra. And
this week, when many of you stopped by, you asked
what is wrong with your dog? And I replied with
the standard answer. You all know so well, eh Diego,
(03:12):
and no more explanation was necessary. A few months ago,
he and our son went to get a fresh cut
with his cherished hairdresser, who I had bribed on many
occasions to make a mistake on his hair. Afterward, as
a reward for a job well done in a chair,
he took our son to pick out a new toy,
(03:33):
a three foot Nerve sniper rifle with a six round
magazine capacity. In multiple magazines. It has been open season
on me ever since. With Diego as their platoon leader.
I now have a four year old with a two
second reload time and a daughter that can apply a tourniquet.
(03:55):
A speech about Diego would be incomplete without mentioning his
affinity for food. My skinny fat kid, Diego has passed
this tradition onto his children. That's my daughter's sushi set,
Barbie stuff down there. Our children are young and their
future memories of their father will be few and faded.
But Diego left so much of his larger than life
character with all of you, and I asked that in
(04:17):
the coming months and years, that you join me in
helping them remember.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Next up, one of the people will help the Marino
kids remember their dad. And that's his longtime police partner
who recently switched uniforms to become a firefighter.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
My name is Matt Molenox.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
I was a city a Kent police officer for eight
years and I got hired about the same time Diego did.
And I can hear his voice now saying, what the
hell is a firefighter doing talking at my service.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
We talked about this.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
Day coming, if it ever came, and Diego always said,
I don't want you guys sitting in a chair staring
at the corner. I want you guys to celebrate. My
first impression of Diego was made before I even met him.
I had just graduated the police academy myself. I'd just
been on the street for a couple of months and
I heard about this hard charger, this young guy that
(05:19):
we just tired, very promising prospect. Halfway through the academy,
he blew his knee out, and that's a career ender A.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Lot of the time, I've done it.
Speaker 4 (05:30):
And instead of having surgery to fix his knee and
finishing the academy later like a normal person would do,
Diego slapped a knee brace on his leg and finished
the rest of his academy with a blown out knee,
completing all the physical and academic requirements, and then he
got his knee fix. That was my first impression of
(05:51):
a man that I am honored to call my best friend.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Who was a coworker. Good Lord Diego, healed up.
Speaker 4 (06:01):
We were a signed to the same beat, and we
were beat partners for many, many years. Diego lived his
life at one thousand miles an hour with such a
fierce intensity.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
I've never seen anything like it. I don't know how
he did it.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
He would walk into the break room at work, and
whether you knew this man for ten years or ten seconds,
he would immediately infect everyone in that room. With that energy,
he'd take a lap around the break room. He'd crack
a joke, sit on someone's lap, make them extremely uncomfortable.
He did in hail a burrito or a donut as
(06:35):
fast as humanly possible, and then one.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Of us would get dispatched to a call.
Speaker 4 (06:43):
And through his mouthfuls of carne soada and delicious pastry
and out on top of that is Venezuelan accent, which
made it difficult to understand him in the first place.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
He would key up his radio. His call sign was
two King five to six.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
He'd keep up his ready and say two K five
to six. That unit is about to secure. We're about
to go home. I've got it, show me in route,
and then you need to do a little dance, and
he'd go out of the room and you'd go to
the call.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
That's who Diego was as a co worker to me
and to so many of us as a friend.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
When Diego and I began to hang out more outside
of work, we text each other, Hey, what are you
doing right now?
Speaker 2 (07:25):
What are you doing later today? What are you doing tomorrow?
This weekend?
Speaker 4 (07:28):
Whenever he texted me first, the message always began with
hay and then a word that rhymed with swat. And
after about the thirtieth or fortieth time that he called
me that, I said, Hey, is there anything wrong with
you saying?
Speaker 2 (07:48):
What's up? Buddy? How's your day going? What are you
up to?
Speaker 4 (07:52):
And it seemed like before I'd even sent that message,
he had responded with about four or five more very
creative ways of using that same term. And so I thought,
you know, this is just Diego. This is a term
of endearment. And I thought that for many years until
last week when I was reminiscing with some very close
friends and coworkers and I just mentioned, you know, I
(08:13):
always thought it was funny. How do you who called
me that name or that word? And I'm sure he
called you the same thing, And everybody got me a
really weird look. They said, no, Matt, Diego liked us,
and I think you were a special case.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
And even now, buddy, after you're gone, you're still making
me feel special.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
As a father, Diego and Shelley were kind enough to
allow me to be a part of Peyton and Adrian's
lives pretty much since they were born.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
I was always an.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
Awe and how he was able to amplify that intense
and fierce energy that.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
He lived his life with, whether it was work or play, and.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
By a thousand fold, with Shelley in the case, put
that energy back into them. I don't have kids of
my own, but I always told myself that if I
ever had a kid, if I could be half the
dad Diego was, I would be a resounding success. And
maybe I set the bar a little high for myself
(09:20):
even at half, but.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
That's the kind of dad Diego was.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
It's all close with this, Diego. I'm now talking directly
to you. You always had our backs, buddy, whether we
knew we needed a back or not, we'd turn around
and there you were. And I make this promise to
you and to you Shelley, that the people who are
(09:46):
the most important to you in this world, your family,
will want for nothing ever until my dying breath.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
I promise you both that.
Speaker 4 (09:56):
And just for you, buddy, I've got one last radio
trans position in me as a cop two King five
four to two King five six. I know you're ready
to secure and you're going home.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
You can clear.
Speaker 5 (10:12):
We've got this, and my goodness, it doesn't get more
beautiful than that. Folks, and you don't hear men loving
on men that way in public. You always had our backs, buddy,
And we can count, if we're lucky, a few people
in our lives who always have our back.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
We just heard from a bride and a partner. National
Police Week officer Diego Moreno of the Kent Police Department
in Washington State.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
This is our American story.
This is our American stories and its National Police Week
all week this week, and it's been happening in this
country since nineteen sixty two, and not nearly enough folks
in the media cover this. We do, and we honor
all of our first responders in this country, and of
course our men and women serving in uniform all around
the world, and we particularly pay homage to the people
(00:40):
who've paid the.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Ultimate price for their service.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
In late July twenty eighteen, in Kent, Washington, a disastrous
combination of fifteen and sixteen year olds alcohol and guns
resulted in a teenager leading the police on a high
speed chase, hitting speeds of ninety five miles per hour.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
At night.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Police officer Diego Marino got in front of the fleeing
truck and laid down spike strips to stop the dangerous chase.
After this beating truck spun out of control, Marino was
accidentally struck and killed by a pursuing police vehicle. A
week later, thousands from across the country gathered to celebrate
(01:20):
Moreno's life, and the procession stretched for over six miles.
His widow wanted everyone to see her goofy, big hearted
husband as she did.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
I'm Shelley Diego's wife. From what you know about Diego
and the way we have honored him today, it's easy
for you to see that Diego loved police work. But
there's one thing Diego loved more than that was being
a daddy. Although it was police work that ultimately took
Diego from us, it was police work that allowed him
to be the father that he was. While he was here,
(01:52):
Diego worked late swing, which rewarded him with daytime daddy's shift.
My phone used to ding every morning, and I would
take it out and find multiple Instagram messages of riotous
singing and dancing in the car while waiting in the
parking lot.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
For school to start.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Then, without complaint of his five hours of sleep, he
would walk our daughter to class and stand in line
with her until he saw her safely in the classroom. Then,
forty minutes later, my phone would dig again as the
process started all over again at preschool. To say he
was protective was an understatement, and he loved his children fiercely.
(02:31):
When Diego's boots were unlaced for the final time, more
evidence of fatherhood excellence was found. A fresh peticure in
primary Blue Diego had taken our daughter for petties just
last week, and she got to choose his color. He
was impressed that the lacquer made them so shiny. Diego's
(02:51):
childish enthusiasm for life was contagious. When playing sidewalk chalk,
he wouldn't just draw with the kids, He'd help them
make our dog walk into a pink striped zebra. And
this week, when many of you stopped by, you asked
what is wrong with your dog? And I replied with
the standard answer. You all know so well, eh Diego,
(03:12):
and no more explanation was necessary. A few months ago,
he and our son went to get a fresh cut
with his cherished hairdresser, who I had bribed on many
occasions to make a mistake on his hair. Afterward, as
a reward for a job well done in a chair,
he took our son to pick out a new toy,
(03:33):
a three foot Nerve sniper rifle with a six round
magazine capacity. In multiple magazines. It has been open season
on me ever since. With Diego as their platoon leader.
I now have a four year old with a two
second reload time and a daughter that can apply a tourniquet.
(03:55):
A speech about Diego would be incomplete without mentioning his
affinity for food. My skinny fat kid, Diego has passed
this tradition onto his children. That's my daughter's sushi set,
Barbie stuff down there. Our children are young and their
future memories of their father will be few and faded.
But Diego left so much of his larger than life
character with all of you, and I asked that in
(04:17):
the coming months and years, that you join me in
helping them remember.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Next up, one of the people will help the Marino
kids remember their dad. And that's his longtime police partner
who recently switched uniforms to become a firefighter.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
My name is Matt Molenox.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
I was a city a Kent police officer for eight
years and I got hired about the same time Diego did.
And I can hear his voice now saying, what the
hell is a firefighter doing talking at my service.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
We talked about this.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
Day coming, if it ever came, and Diego always said,
I don't want you guys sitting in a chair staring
at the corner. I want you guys to celebrate. My
first impression of Diego was made before I even met him.
I had just graduated the police academy myself. I'd just
been on the street for a couple of months and
I heard about this hard charger, this young guy that
(05:19):
we just tired, very promising prospect. Halfway through the academy,
he blew his knee out, and that's a career ender A.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Lot of the time, I've done it.
Speaker 4 (05:30):
And instead of having surgery to fix his knee and
finishing the academy later like a normal person would do,
Diego slapped a knee brace on his leg and finished
the rest of his academy with a blown out knee,
completing all the physical and academic requirements, and then he
got his knee fix. That was my first impression of
(05:51):
a man that I am honored to call my best friend.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Who was a coworker. Good Lord Diego, healed up.
Speaker 4 (06:01):
We were a signed to the same beat, and we
were beat partners for many, many years. Diego lived his
life at one thousand miles an hour with such a
fierce intensity.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
I've never seen anything like it. I don't know how
he did it.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
He would walk into the break room at work, and
whether you knew this man for ten years or ten seconds,
he would immediately infect everyone in that room. With that energy,
he'd take a lap around the break room. He'd crack
a joke, sit on someone's lap, make them extremely uncomfortable.
He did in hail a burrito or a donut as
(06:35):
fast as humanly possible, and then one.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Of us would get dispatched to a call.
Speaker 4 (06:43):
And through his mouthfuls of carne soada and delicious pastry
and out on top of that is Venezuelan accent, which
made it difficult to understand him in the first place.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
He would key up his radio. His call sign was
two King five to six.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
He'd keep up his ready and say two K five
to six. That unit is about to secure. We're about
to go home. I've got it, show me in route,
and then you need to do a little dance, and
he'd go out of the room and you'd go to
the call.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
That's who Diego was as a co worker to me
and to so many of us as a friend.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
When Diego and I began to hang out more outside
of work, we text each other, Hey, what are you
doing right now?
Speaker 2 (07:25):
What are you doing later today? What are you doing tomorrow?
This weekend?
Speaker 4 (07:28):
Whenever he texted me first, the message always began with
hay and then a word that rhymed with swat. And
after about the thirtieth or fortieth time that he called
me that, I said, Hey, is there anything wrong with
you saying?
Speaker 2 (07:48):
What's up? Buddy? How's your day going? What are you
up to?
Speaker 4 (07:52):
And it seemed like before I'd even sent that message,
he had responded with about four or five more very
creative ways of using that same term. And so I thought,
you know, this is just Diego. This is a term
of endearment. And I thought that for many years until
last week when I was reminiscing with some very close
friends and coworkers and I just mentioned, you know, I
(08:13):
always thought it was funny. How do you who called
me that name or that word? And I'm sure he
called you the same thing, And everybody got me a
really weird look. They said, no, Matt, Diego liked us,
and I think you were a special case.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
And even now, buddy, after you're gone, you're still making
me feel special.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
As a father, Diego and Shelley were kind enough to
allow me to be a part of Peyton and Adrian's
lives pretty much since they were born.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
I was always an.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
Awe and how he was able to amplify that intense
and fierce energy that.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
He lived his life with, whether it was work or play, and.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
By a thousand fold, with Shelley in the case, put
that energy back into them. I don't have kids of
my own, but I always told myself that if I
ever had a kid, if I could be half the
dad Diego was, I would be a resounding success. And
maybe I set the bar a little high for myself
(09:20):
even at half, but.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
That's the kind of dad Diego was.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
It's all close with this, Diego. I'm now talking directly
to you. You always had our backs, buddy, whether we
knew we needed a back or not, we'd turn around
and there you were. And I make this promise to
you and to you Shelley, that the people who are
(09:46):
the most important to you in this world, your family,
will want for nothing ever until my dying breath.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
I promise you both that.
Speaker 4 (09:56):
And just for you, buddy, I've got one last radio
trans position in me as a cop two King five
four to two King five six. I know you're ready
to secure and you're going home.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
You can clear.
Speaker 5 (10:12):
We've got this, and my goodness, it doesn't get more
beautiful than that. Folks, and you don't hear men loving
on men that way in public. You always had our backs, buddy,
And we can count, if we're lucky, a few people
in our lives who always have our back.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
We just heard from a bride and a partner. National
Police Week officer Diego Moreno of the Kent Police Department
in Washington State.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
This is our American story.
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