Friends recall life of former Marine killed at Togus

[CH53MetalMan]

An ailing Grindstone man and former U.S. Marine fatally shot by law enforcement officers near a veterans hospital Thursday was remembered by friends Friday as a generous, considerate man who struggled heroically to overcome a rare form of cancer and believed strongly in his right to carry a gun.

An autopsy of James F. Popkowski, 37, on Friday determined that he died from a gunshot wound to the neck and was killed in a homicide. The term denotes that he was killed by someone else, not that his death was necessarily caused by or came during a crime, a medical examiner's office spokeswoman said.

But their overriding portrait of Popkowski on Friday described a patriotic, uncommonly polite and generous man, eager to help others and heroically contending with a debilitating illness. Those who saw him in the hours leading to the incident maintain that they saw nothing unusual in his behavior.

http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/148407.html

[PaidinBlood]

Obviously many facts will have to be examined, but there is no need to examine the inherent tragedy.

Prayers for all affected by this and all our brothers still struggling to carry their burdens...

SF