Results of autopsy on suspected shooter to be released during news conference today
By MICHAEL WANBAUGH, The South Bend Tribune
MISHAWAKA, Indiana -- Along North Church Street’s downtown curve, where patrol cars 4839 and 9645 are parked on the police station lawn, the humanity of a community facing unprecedented tragedy blossoms in a growing pile of flowers, stuffed animals and Bible verses.
At churches and businesses throughout town, American flags flutter at half-staff, reminding all who pass that something horrible has happened.
Near the corner of Sarah and Marion streets, in the sleepy neighborhood where two Mishawaka police officers were shot to death early the previous morning, there is little sign such violence occurred: just some leftover police tape knotted to a tree and an empty pair of examiner gloves lying inside-out next to a chain-link fence.
Mishawaka police officers Thomas Roberts, 43, and Bryan S. Verkler, 27, both died early Saturday morning from gunshot wounds sustained during a shoot-out.
By Sunday afternoon, a city that has not lost an officer in the line of duty in more than 70 years was feeling and showing the effects.
“These guys put their life on the line every single day,” said 15-year-old Ben Rast as he shivered next to Roberts’ police car, part of a makeshift memorial in front of the police station. “I figure they at least deserve my support. That’s why I came here. They gave their lives protecting others.”
At 12:53 a.m. Saturday, Roberts and Verkler responded to a report of shots fired at 125 E. Battell St., a result of what witnesses say was an argument over a necklace.
The suspect, 30-year-old Raymond Matthew Gilkeson, left the residence before Roberts and Verkler arrived. The officers traced Gilkeson to a home a block northeast at 1012 N. Sarah St.
Police say Gilkeson shot both officers during a struggle as they attempted to arrest him.
Roberts, a 14-year veteran of the department, was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene. Verkler, who has been with the department for 2 1/2 years, was taken by ambulance to Saint Joseph’s Regional Medical Center. He was pronounced dead around 4 a.m. while in surgery.
Police say Gilkeson was also wounded during the exchange of gunfire and died inside the house as a result of those injuries. A witness’s account, however, suggests Gilkeson shot himself.
St. Joseph County Deputy Coroner Dr. Michael O’Connell oversaw Gilkeson’s autopsy Sunday. O’Connell said details of that autopsy will be released during a news conference today.
Verkler is survived by his wife, Juli. The two were married this past May in LaJolla, Calif. They have no children. Verkler’s father, Randy, and brother, Brett, are both members of the Walkerton Police Department.
Juli Verkler is an emergency room nurse at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center. She was working Saturday morning when her husband was brought to the hospital.
“During a trauma, everyone kicks it into a high gear. There are no emotions,” said Sue Burgess, director of emergency services at St. Joseph Regional Medical Central. “Afterward, though, it was really tough. You see (traumas) all the time in the E.R. But it’s that emotional piece when it’s one of your own that makes it so hard.”
Burgess said Juli Verkler did not work on her husband’s trauma but was in the room at one point before he was taken to surgery.
Burgess said emergency room workers received the call that a Mishawaka officer was being brought in about an hour before Juli Verkler’s 12-hour shift was to end at 3 a.m. Verkler immediately called the Mishawaka Police Department to find out if either of the wounded officers was her husband.
“When they put her on hold,” Burgess said, “she knew it was him.”
Many of the those working in the emergency room that night were deeply affected, Burgess said. Reserves were called in to finish some shifts.
Thomas and Verkler are the first Mishawaka police officers to die in the line of duty since Ptl. Clarence Casper was killed in a motorcycle crash on June 10, 1930.
The last officer to be shot to death in St. Joseph County was South Bend Police Cpl. Paul Deguch on Aug. 24, 1997. Burgess, a nurse at the time, was also working when Deguch was brought to St. Joseph’s emergency room.
Deguch was shot while chasing a teenage boy suspected of stealing a bicycle.
Roberts is the father of two grown children. He grew up on West Grove Street, less than a mile from where he was killed.
The patrol cars Roberts and Verkler drove are now covered with flowers and other tributes to their sacrifice.
Rast, a sophomore at Brandywine High School in Niles, wants to become a police officer. He visited the memorial Sunday with his father, Robert.
“We watched the initial press conference on TV,” Robert Rast said. “It was pretty powerful. With tears in my eyes, I turned and asked (Ben), ‘Do you really want to be a police officer?’
“He said, ‘Yes.’ ”
Funeral arrangements:
Funeral arrangements for the two Mishawaka police officers killed in the line of duty Saturday morning were announced Sunday.
Viewing:
The viewing for both Cpl. Thomas Roberts and patrolman Bryan S. Verkler will be Tuesday at the Bethel College gymnasium, 1001 W. McKinley Ave., from 2 until 8 p.m.
Services:
Cpl. Thomas Roberts -- Services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday in St. Monica Catholic Church, 222 W. Mishawaka Ave. Burial will follow in St. Joseph Valley Cemetery.
Patrolman Bryan Verkler -- Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday in the Bethel College Fine Arts Building, 1001 W. McKinley Ave.Burial will follow in Verkler’s hometown of Walkerton.