jmtins
04-25-2005, 16:31
Wounded Pittsburg Police Officer Declared Brain Dead
PITTSBURG -- A Pittsburg police officer -- critically wounded in a shootout with two suspected armed robbers over the weekend -- has been declared brain dead and will remain on life support until his organs can be donated, his family said Monday.
"It is so hard because the media makes it sound like my son is alive," Phyllis Loya -- officer Larry Lasater's mother -- told reporters outside John Muir Medical Center Monday. "My son is on a ventilator until his organs are transplanted...My son is brain dead...We are going to miss him so much...I can't imagine life without my son."
Loya said her son -- who along with his wife were eagerly awaiting the birth of their first son, Cody, in July -- had lived his life by example.
"He was a hero before Saturday," she said. "My son was a hero every day of his life."
Officer Larry Lasater, 36, was shot twice while trying to arrest two armed suspects who had allegedly held up a cashier at Raley's Market at 1375 Buchanan Road as well as a Wells Fargo bank branch inside the store around 5:50 p.m. Saturday, according to Capt. William Zbacnik.
The suspects fled the scene and Lasater and another officer caught up with the pair on the Delta De Anza trail near the Antioch border, police said.
Lasater, who had his gun drawn, ordered the suspects to surrender. As he yelled the command, several shots were fired and he was struck, police said.
He suffered fatal wounds to his neck and his upper thigh and was declared brain dead late Sunday night, his mother confirmed to KTVU Fox2.
Both suspects were arrested. Alexander Hamilton,19, of Antioch is in custody at the Contra Costa County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder and armed robbery, Zbacnik reported.
The second suspect, a 17-year-old Antioch boy, is being held at juvenile hall on suspicion of the same charges, according to Zbacnik.
According to Zbacnik, Lasater's wife is about seven months pregnant with their first child. She had been at his bedside since Saturday with Lasater's parents and extended family.
PITTSBURG -- A Pittsburg police officer -- critically wounded in a shootout with two suspected armed robbers over the weekend -- has been declared brain dead and will remain on life support until his organs can be donated, his family said Monday.
"It is so hard because the media makes it sound like my son is alive," Phyllis Loya -- officer Larry Lasater's mother -- told reporters outside John Muir Medical Center Monday. "My son is on a ventilator until his organs are transplanted...My son is brain dead...We are going to miss him so much...I can't imagine life without my son."
Loya said her son -- who along with his wife were eagerly awaiting the birth of their first son, Cody, in July -- had lived his life by example.
"He was a hero before Saturday," she said. "My son was a hero every day of his life."
Officer Larry Lasater, 36, was shot twice while trying to arrest two armed suspects who had allegedly held up a cashier at Raley's Market at 1375 Buchanan Road as well as a Wells Fargo bank branch inside the store around 5:50 p.m. Saturday, according to Capt. William Zbacnik.
The suspects fled the scene and Lasater and another officer caught up with the pair on the Delta De Anza trail near the Antioch border, police said.
Lasater, who had his gun drawn, ordered the suspects to surrender. As he yelled the command, several shots were fired and he was struck, police said.
He suffered fatal wounds to his neck and his upper thigh and was declared brain dead late Sunday night, his mother confirmed to KTVU Fox2.
Both suspects were arrested. Alexander Hamilton,19, of Antioch is in custody at the Contra Costa County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder and armed robbery, Zbacnik reported.
The second suspect, a 17-year-old Antioch boy, is being held at juvenile hall on suspicion of the same charges, according to Zbacnik.
According to Zbacnik, Lasater's wife is about seven months pregnant with their first child. She had been at his bedside since Saturday with Lasater's parents and extended family.