“We Got This”: A Daughter Remembers Sgt. Richard Mendez

On this episode of Our American Stories, during his nearly 23 years with the Philadelphia Police Department, Sgt. Richard Mendez served his city, earned multiple college degrees, and built a life centered on family. Just days before his planned retirement, he was killed in the line of duty. In this moving tribute, his daughter Mia shares the story of the father she loved, the lessons he taught her, and the phrase he always repeated when life became difficult: “We got this.”

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:11):
And we continue with our American stories. Up next, we
have a moving eulogy from Mia Mendez. She memorialized the
life of her father, Sergeant Richard Mendez, who was shot
four times and killed while trying to stop a car
breaking in Philadelphia in twenty twenty three. He was on

(00:32):
the force there for nearly two decades. At his funeral,
there were a number of speakers, none were more moving
than his daughter Mia. Let's take a listen.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
I'm the daughter of Richard Kura Mendez. He was born
in Maus, Puerto Rico, on June twenty second, nineteen seventy three,
or according to Mayouira, the twenty first of June was
our family's backbone in high pressure situations. My mother and
I can be a mess, but he was the one
that always stayed calm, the one that told us everything

(01:09):
is going to be okay. His favorite phase was always
we got this. No matter how tough a situation could be.
He was always supporting the people in his life and
would always be a shoulder to cry on. He was
a wrestler in high school and when I was a kid,
he would always tell me about his wrestling days and
would try and teach me his moves. We'd be in

(01:30):
the supermarket and I'd be jumping all over him, trying
to show off the moves he taught me. He met
my mother in high school. He was sixteen and she
was fourteen. My daddy used to say it was love
at first sight. He'd never stop asking her out, and
my mom would always say, I'm not allowed to date.
My mom would kill me. My mom's history teacher, mister Carbonick,

(01:52):
was also my daddy's wrestling coach. He would always poke
fun at the two. He would say to my mom,
one of my boys likes you. One story that he
would always tell me was when he had a match
and was ten pounds over his weight class and needed
to lose it by the end of the day. Coach
Carbnick signed him out of all of his classes that
day and made fun of him in front of my mom.

(02:15):
My daddy finally started dating my mommy after she finished
high school. Everyone loved my daddy, and everyone especially loved
his relationship with my mom. He treated her like the
queen she is. They said their love wasn't complete until
I came into the picture. Anyone who knew my dad
could tell you how much he loved her, and anyone

(02:36):
who had the pleasure of seeing their love would be
jealous of the relationship they had. I remember from the
ages nine to thirteen. Every year for their anniversary, my
dad would get her a bouquet of roses, but every
year he would have to double the amount he got
the previous year. It got to the point he had
to stop giving her flowers. My dad will always be

(02:59):
an amazing way and we will always have all the
memories of all that he has done for our family.
My daddy wasn't a regular wrestler. He cared about his education,
not just fighting. At my age, he didn't really have
as many opportunities to further his education, so growing up
he always emphasized the importance of my education. Without him,

(03:19):
I don't know where I would be in my educational career.
He would text or call to make sure I got
my assignment's done, read over all of my essays, and
calm me down when school got overwhelming. Once again, he
would always say, we got this. As an adult, Daddy
finally got his chance to get a degree. He didn't

(03:41):
stop at one. In twenty fourteen, he received his Associates
of Science and Business Administration and then two years later
in twenty sixteen, he received a bachelor's of Science and
Business Administration, graduating with sumun cum Laudie, and then a
year later, in twenty seventeen, he received a Master's of
Science in minis Business Administration. The achievement he was most

(04:03):
proud of besides me, of course, was getting those degrees.
My daddy was so proud of them, and so are we.
He did this all while being a full time Philadelphia
police officer, a full time husband, dad, son, brother and friend,
and he always found a way to make time for us.
He was truly my superhero. He spent countless nights up

(04:27):
until four am completing assignments. He would have his partner
at the time, Al Cruz, read over his assignments during
slow times at the twenty fifth District, and they would
had an inside joke that it was Al and my
daddy's degree. I would say, half that degree is mine.
He inspired me to keep working through my education. When
he got his master's degree, he would joke and say,

(04:49):
just call me master. If you feel that higher education
is something you want to work towards, do it. My
daddy would have supported you fully. My daddy was on
track to retire on October fifteenth. It would have been
his twenty third year on the force. He had sixty
seven certifications and accommodations. When he retired, he wanted to

(05:13):
go back to school, but this time to teach. I
could not think of a better and more qualified teacher
than him. He was qualified to teach mert. He knew
everything about the department. He created countless memos, not that
he needed them himself, and you could tell him one
thing and he'd never forget. He always said he had
the memory of an elephant. He also helped put together

(05:35):
so many spreadsheets. He was one of the first officers
at the Real Time Crime Unit, and he was the
first major Incident Response Team officers. Either place he was
he would have done great, just as he did everywhere
he had been before. On Thursday, October twelfth, my daddy
was murdered in the line of duty. That very night.
I asked him, can't you call out sick? I want

(05:57):
you to stay home with us tonight, And he said, no, Mommy,
I can't. I rocked too many sick time sick hours already.
Never in a million years would I have thought that
would be the last time I ever saw my daddy.
That night was the worst night of my life. My
Uncle Booker came to our house to take us to
Penn Presbyterian Hospital. He drove like a bad at of

(06:18):
hell to get us to the hospital to see my daddy.
But we were But as we were driving there over
the rainbow started to play and I knew my Daddy
had left us. I knew we were too late. My
Daddy's the Uncle Booker to us in a crowd of
unfamiliar faces. He was our rock. The rest of the
night was such a blur. All I can remember seeing

(06:40):
my daddy's cold, dead body lying there when less than
two hours ago he was kissing me and my mommy
good night. Surviving without my Daddy will be difficult for
the both of us, but we know we wouldn't. He
wouldn't want us to give up, so we won't. Thank
you to the Philadelphia Police Department and everyone who has
kept us in your prayers. The current state of Philadelphia

(07:03):
worries me. My daddy would always tell me keep your
head on a swivel, something he seemed to say more
and more in the last few months. The past few years,
it seems that crime in Philadelphia has been going up
as well. People are getting too comfortable committing crimes knowing
that in most cases nothing will happen to them. I'm
scared in this situation. Definitely does not help the strongest

(07:26):
man in my life, my hero, my rock, my daddy
was taken from me, from us, and I'm unbelievably scared.
My daddy was an amazing man. He was a kind, loving, patient,
and humble. My daddy was looked over. He trained people,

(07:47):
He did everything he could to support his family and
his fellow officers, and he never complained. He never envied anybody.
He was always there to celebrate everyone's success. He was
a good officer and even better husband, and the best
daddy in the world. Thank you.

Speaker 1 (08:16):
What a beautiful what a sad and what a remarkable story.
Me had just told these officers that servant protect us,
seven hundred thousand of them. They go out to serve
and protect us, and sometimes they don't come home. She said,
my daddy was taken from me. He was an amazing man.

(08:38):
She also noted that he was a good officer, a
better husband, and the best daddy in the world. That night,
I asked him, can't you call in sick Never in
a million years, MIAs said, did I think that that
would be the last time I would ever see my daddy.
The most heartbreaking part of all. He was on track

(08:59):
to retire, he was ready to teach, he was ready
to go out and live his life, and it was
cut short in a senseless way. Celebrating always here in
our American Stories, the people who serve and protect us
and their families. Honoring Richard Mendez his daughter's eulogy here

(09:21):
on our American Stories,