In Rochester, a retired police officer was murdered. During a car accident early Sunday morning, William Keith Booker was shot and killed. Booker had a five-year-old daughter.
A statement from Booker’s family describes him as a beloved father, son, brother, cousin, and friend. He was shot while driving in the direction of his home.
“He was an awesome guy and will be missed,
In Rochester, a retired police officer is the 62nd murder victim. During a car accident early Sunday morning, William Keith Booker was shot and killed. Booker had a five-year-old daughter.
A statement from Booker’s family describes him as a beloved father, son, brother, cousin, and friend. He was shot while driving in the direction of his home alone.
“He was an awesome guy and will be missed. Those kids were fortunate to have him as a support,” said Wanda Ridgeway.
Ridgeway works for the county’s crime victims resource center. Her children attended Franklin High School, where Booker was an officer with the RPD.
“We needed him in the schools at that time,” she said. “When my children strayed or needed support, he would call me.”
Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter referred to Booker as “a good man” and a “noble servant” in a tweet on Monday.
Former RPD Chief La’Ron Singletary tweeted that Booker was a “friend, brother, father, and family member.”
His car crashed into a parked car on the side of the street at 2 a.m. on Jefferson Avenue. There is a video of the crash and the shooting that took place aftwards. Which have not been released due to an active police investigation.
The family described Booker as a man of faith and said, “We pray that this horrible tragedy and the other senseless homicides that have occurred in Rochester will usher in a much needed change.”
Ridgway said she is sick of the violence in the city and enough is enough.
“I’m tired of all the violence. I’m tired of all the shootings. I’m tired of all the guns and where they’re coming from,” she said. “We’ve lost way too many people this year and I’m tired. I’m tired.”
For more on this story, please consider these sources:
- Jefferson Ave. murder victim identified as retired Rochester Police Officer – Rochester First
- Family, former colleagues react to killing of former Rochester Police officer – 13WHAM-TV
- William Booker, retired Rochester NY officer, fatally shot – The Chronicle
- Statement released by sister of retired RPD officer who died in Jefferson Ave. shooting – NBC