Death On The Beat

(5 of 5)

As the marchers approached the site where Atkinson died, some left flowers or novena candles; others left poems or notes of thanks, many in Spanish. And then Davila spoke, in Spanish, then in English, thanking the throng for turning the place of Atkinson's death into sacred ground. State senator Joe Eddie Lopez followed him, asking Davila to tell his officers "that we love the work that you do, that we are slow to express it as much as we should, but that the safety of our children and our families rests in your hands."

After the vigil broke up, about 100 people stayed behind and said a rosary. Karen Atkinson was there, along with Marc's mother, brother and sister, and strangers went up to them to say--some in Spanish, some in English--that they were sorry. It would be the first night since her husband's death that Karen Atkinson slept.