YARMOUTH, Mass. (NEWS CENTER Maine) – While Corporal Eugene Cole's family seeks justice in the courts, they are grieving alongside the entire first responder community. Corporal Cole was shot and killed not long after the death of another law enforcement officer in New England.
"You want a son, Sean is the son that you want,” describes Frank Frederickson, Chief of Police in Yarmouth, Massachusetts. "He's everything you want and a wonderful human being."
Chief Frederickson and others who knew Officer Sean Gannon are grieving their loss. He was shot and killed earlier this month while on duty. His K9 Nero was hospitalized with injuries.
"Nero's doing great," says Chief Frederickson.
Not even two weeks later, Corporal Eugene Cole of the Somerset County Sheriff's Office was shot. The search for his killer spanned four days.
The news of another deadly officer shooting reignited the anger for those who just went through it.
"I have a job to do to run a police department and get our officers back on the streets in a healthy way we do the very best we can for them,” says Chief Frederickson. “I'm caging that fury, but positioning it in the right way so we can make a difference."
"We need change,” says Denise Morency Gannon. “People are crying for change."
Denise Morency-Gannon and her husband's Florida vacation abruptly ended with a phone call.
"I did worry every day, I feared it every day."
Her son was also shot and killed in the line of duty. Gannon says she is living her worst nightmare.
"When you lose someone to a murder, like this happened, it changes everything," she describes.
The mother of fallen Officer Sean Gannon says the stories people have told her in the last few weeks have been the light she has needed to get through. She describes it as an “explosion of support.”
It appears to be much like the Somerset County residents who have shared countless stories of Corporal Cole.
"This is so fresh, that we understand what's going on in your community," says Gannon.
Thousands of have letters flooded the Yarmouth Police Department offering condolences from all over the world, from many who never knew officer Gannon.
“Support your sheriff's office, your police department,” says Chief Frederickson. “Let them know how important they are to you."