One of the cops had just gotten married. Another had a 2-year-old daughter. And a third had been working in a prison in Detroit before landing his dream job with the Dallas Police Department.
The five law-enforcement officers slain by a racist sniper — in an ambush that left seven others wounded — came from various backgrounds, but all were protecting the public as it peacefully protested a spate of recent police shootings.
The first fallen officer identified Friday was Brent Thompson, a 43-year-old transit cop who was married two weeks ago to Emily Thompson, who works for the same force.
Thompson joined the Dallas Area Rapid Transit police in November 2009 and was the agency’s first officer killed in the line of duty.
His LinkedIn page says he patrolled the northwest section and loved the teamwork involved with the job.
“I am constantly looking for different ways to serve the department,” he wrote.
Before joining DART, he was an international police liaison officer for military contractor DynCorp International and helped train police officers in Afghanistan and Iraq.
He would have turned 44 this month.
“This is very heart-breaking,” DART authority chief James Spiller said.
Family members praised Thompson’s bravery online.
“Thank you for serving our country,” one wrote on Facebook.
Like Thompson, Dallas Police Officer Patrick Zamarripa, 32 — a husband who leaves behind a 2-year-old daughter — also served in the Middle East. He did three tours in the Navy.
His stepmother, Maria Zamarripa, 50, told The Post that she had always felt uneasy about his job.
“We were always afraid something like this would happen,” she said. “But he told us to not worry about him.”
Patrick Zamarripa’s stepbrother, Dustin Martinez, tweeted a photo of him in police uniform.
“Love you brother. Couldn’t be prouder. We’ll see you again,” Martinez wrote.
On Zamarripa’s Facebook page, friends commented on recent photos of a vacation he took with wife Kristy.
“You were a good man, and we were all proud of you!” one wrote.
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:0Also killed was Michael Krol, a Detroit native who moved to Dallas in 2007 to become a police officer.
Krol, 40, once worked for Michigan’s jail system.
“He spent some time at the correctional facility. It wasn’t quite what he was looking for, so he worked pretty hard to find a job and got one in Dallas,” Krol’s uncle Jim Ehlke told Detroit TV station WDIV. “He was in, he was all in.”
Krol’s mother, Susan Ehlke told station WXYZ her son was a “caring person” who loved being a cop.
“He knew the danger of the job, but he never shied away from his duty as a police officer,” she said.
Sgt. Michael Smith, 55, who joined the Dallas Police Department in 1989, was a former Army Ranger. He had two young daughters.
Lorne Ahrens, 48, who served on the force for 14 years, was married to Dallas Detective Katrina Ahrens. The couple had two young kids, ages 10 and 8. He spoke at their school about what it means to be a cop.
After keeping vigil at the hospital, his wife came home and told the children their dad died trying to help people.
