Hundreds attend BBQ for fallen, wounded Phoenix officers

PHOENIX — The public outpour of support continued Thursday for two officers involved in a deadly shootout in west Phoenix.

On Thursday, hundreds of officers from all over the Valley and members of the community came to the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association garage for a barbecue aimed to raise funds for the families of fallen Phoenix Police Det. John Hobbs and wounded Det. AJ Casados.

“It’s nice to see the turnout and a lot of us, especially those in the law enforcement community…you see people you haven’t seen in a long time,” said Frank Marino, a Phoenix police officer and secretary of PLEA.

Marino said the turnout has more than they could have expected.

“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “When we do have to do these fundraisers, we get a turnout and this quite honestly is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, one I’ve seen.”

Within an hour of the start of the barbeque lunch the collection bin at the entrance was more than three-fourths full.

Marino said the money collected at the event, which will go to benefit the families, will be a big help because it will take time for their benefits to come through.

“Down the road there will be benefits, there will be line-of-duty benefits for Officer Hobbs (and) there will be benefits for Officer Casado, but in the interim they need financial assistance,” he said.

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