Slain Dallas Officer Patrick Zamarripa 'Loved Being a Father,' Relatives Say
— -- Slain Dallas police officer Patrick Zamarripa loved his job, his mother and sister said, but most of all, he loved being a father to his stepson and 2-year-old daughter, Lyncoln Rae.
"He was so proud and loved being a father to her," his mother, Valerie Zamarripa, told ABC News' "20/20." "She looks just like him... I just don’t know how she’s going to be looking for him and not see him anymore."
Patrick Zamarripa, 32, was one of the five police officer killed in downtown Dallas Thursday night when suspect Micah Johnson opened fire during a police shootings protest in downtown Dallas. The protests were in response to the deaths of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota at the hands of officers this week.
When Zamarripa would drop his daughter off at his mother's house, she said her son would show up in his uniform, "proudly" carrying a pink diaper bag with him. Now that he's gone, his sister said their family will come together to help care for Lyncoln.
"I’m not going to be able to do that on my own," his sister, Laura Zamarripa said, wiping away tears. "I need support from my mom and my dad and my other brother that way she can know who her father was later when she grows up."
Patrick Zamarripa, originally from Fort Worth, Texas, was a veteran who served three tours in Iraq before coming home to be a Dallas police officer.
"He just loved his job," his sister said. "Every day he loved doing it... it gave him a great love for his country, his city and everybody around him."
His mother said he had talked about becoming a police officer ever since he was little.
"That was his dream and he fulfilled his dream by going into the Navy and then becoming Dallas PD," she said. "He never talked about his job to us, he always kept that to himself because he didn’t want us worrying about what he was going through ... but as a mother, I worried."
Seeing the outpouring of support for her son after his death was "amazing" and "humbling," Valerie Zamarripa said. "It made us even more proud to know that he loved his job and that he loved all the people that he worked with."
In the aftermath of the Dallas shooting ambush,the Zamarripas had a message for other police officers serving their country.
"Just be safe, rely on your partners, be safe, support each other," Laura Zamarripa said.
"And continue to do what you’re doing and do the right thing," Valerie Zamarripa added. "Don’t let this stop anyone from becoming what they really want to do."
