Sheriff: Slain deputy's last words to shooter were 'let me help you'
"And up until Deputy Zack Parrish died, he was pleading with the man, begging him, 'Let me talk to you. Let me help you, please.' And then the killer killed him," Spurlock said.
Author: Kelly Jensen
Published: 10:14 PM MST January 5, 2018
Even a church that holds 5,000 people wasn't enough room as an entire community gathered to pay respects to slain deputy Zackari Parrish Friday afternoon.
Another 600 mourners gathered to watch the services for Parrish in neighboring Valor Christian High School when the church reached its capacity.
Parrish's wife, father and best friend shared stories, memories and some tears as they spoke about the fallen Douglas County Deputy.
The Douglas County Sheriff also shared what made the 29-year-old so special.
In his remarks, Sheriff Tony Spurlock shared the final moments of Zack's life, as the father of two responded to a disturbance call in Highlands Ranch last week.
"Never once did I hear Zack Parrish use a foul word, never once did I hear him raise his voice. Never once did I hear him be derogatory to this individual. Not one time," Spurlock said. "Now I know why officers wanted to work with Zack Parrish."
Shortly after 3 a.m. New Year's Eve, Parrish, and other deputies, were called out to an apartment for a disturbance call.
"He found out what was going on. He determined there was no crime, and he encouraged everyone to quiet down," Spurlock said.
Two hours later, deputies were called back to the same home.
"And this was different. Zack knew it was different," Spurlock said.
The sheriff said he has listened to the body camera audio tapes from that final, fateful call.
“Of course if was Zack's call, and I'm guessing those of you who knew it was Zack's call knew you stood behind him, never in front of him, and that's who he was,” Spurlock said.
“And up until Deputy Zack Parrish died, he was pleading with the man, begging him, 'Let me talk to you. Let me help you, please.' And then the killer killed him," Spurlock said.
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