By Kim Bell
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
ST. LOUIS, Mo. — A young policeman with the St. Louis Police Department has died of injuries from an Oct. 6 crash in his patrol car, the department announced Friday.
Officer Julius Moore, 23, died at about 6 p.m. Thursday at St. Louis University Hospital.
Moore had been at the hospital’s intensive care unit in critical condition since the crash. He never regained consciousness, and after days of conferring with doctors, the family agreed to take him off life support, said his father, the Rev. Robert E. Moore of Pine Lawn.
Moore was hurt 10 days ago when he collided with a tractor-trailer at the intersection of South Broadway and Arsenal Street. Moore was in his patrol car, with the lights and sirens on, rushing to help other Third District police officers catch burglars, police say. Just before 1 p.m. on Oct. 6, Moore’s patrol car and the truck were both heading south. The truck started to make a right turn and struck the officer’s car, pushing it into a traffic light and a brick wall.
The man driving the truck was uninjured. Police say he cooperated with investigators. At this time, police say, they don’t expect the truck driver to face any charges. The accident reconstruction team’s investigation is not yet complete. Police say it can take as long as 12 weeks for investigators to finish their report after computing measurements and other findings from the crash site.
Moore had been a St. Louis policeman less than two years. He graduated from the police academy in December 2007. Moore graduated from Normandy High School in 2004.
Moore’s survivors include his wife and three young children -- a 4-year-old son, a 5-month-old son and a 21-month-old daughter. The children are too young to know what is happening, and his wife “will need a lot of support,” said Robert Moore. “My son loved his wife and kids dearly.”
Moore’s family was with him when he died Thursday. Many people visited Moore in the days after the crash, including his sixth-grade and kindergarten teachers and many clergy and police officers. Julius Moore’s aunt is a police officer with the St. Louis Police Department.
“That influenced him to join,” said Robert Moore. “I was really proud he was a police officer. He did his job well, he did it routinely. He enjoyed his work tremendously. Whatever happened, I let him know Christ was his backup. I let him know he was always covered and faith would be his shield.
“He knew the risks,” Robert Moore continued. “Of course, we never expected it would happen like that.”
Since the crash, Moore’s family “remained by his bedside around the clock,” Police Chief Don Isom wrote on the department’s website Monday, asking the public to pray for the family.
The day before Moore crashed, another St. Louis police officer was critically hurt. That officer, who was off-duty, was shot five times and critically wounded in a home invasion in the La Salle Park neighborhood just south of downtown. She amazed doctors, though, and was released from the hospital this week.
Isom was out of town when both officers were hurt, but he wrote on the department’s website about what a difficult time it was for the department.
“Last week reminded all of us inside the department of the dangers of this job, though it’s really something that’s never far from the front of our minds anyway,” Isom wrote. “Our officers aren’t always applauded in the press. They don’t make the biggest salaries. They don’t work the shortest hours. Yet their resolve, their commitment and their courage in the face of danger never cease to amaze me.”
Police department spokeswoman Erica Van Ross said Isom will be available to talk with reporters Friday.
Funeral arrangements for Moore are incomplete.
Ron Battelle, executive director of the police officers and firefighters fund known as BackStoppers, said the group is trying to arrange a meeting with the family today to present them with a check for $5,000. The money can be used for whatever expenses they have, no strings attached.
In addition, Battelle said BackStoppers will return to meet with the widow in the next two or three weeks. They’ll ask her to compile all of her bills so the organization can pay them off.
“Our goal is to make them debt-free,” Battelle said. “We’ll pay off their house, all their other bills, credit card bills, automobile payments. Obviously, she’s going to have enough on her mind with three small children. We want her not to have to worry about financial obligations. It takes one little aspect of stress out of her life and allows her to concentrate on raising her kids.”
In fact, BackStoppers will pay for the children’s education all the way through graduate school if they choose to attend.
BackStoppers is funded solely through donations. In its 50-year history, the organization has helped families of 124 police officers and firefighters who died in the line of duty. Currently, they are helping 47 families and 48 children under the age of 21.
BackStoppers’ annual budget is about $750,000. Its biggest annual fundraiser is the Guns ‘N Hoses boxing match on Nov. 25 at the Scotttrade Center.
Copyright 2009 St. Louis Post-Dispatch