Sergeant Leaves Legacy of Valiant Service

Mourners Hear Officer's Last Call To Dispatchers

D.C. police Sgt. Gerard W. Burke Jr. received all of the tributes and pageantry yesterday that go with a memorial service for an officer who died while performing his duties: the honor guard poised with flags and rifles, colleagues in dress blue uniforms and white gloves, and crisp salutes as his coffin was carried from the church. A police helicopter did a flyby overhead.

But what happened next was extraordinary.

Police officials played an audiotape of Burke's last call to dispatchers over loudspeakers on the street outside St. Patrick Catholic Church in Northwest Washington. The recording captured the sergeant trailing a stolen car Thursday night. It was his day off, and he was heading to the airport to catch a plane. But he wanted dispatchers to summon uniformed officers to make the traffic stop.

During that short call, Burke ruptured a major blood vessel. He can be heard gasping for air before crashing his SUV into some parked cars. He later died at a hospital. The tape brought tears to the eyes of fellow officers attending the service and construction workers at a nearby building who had halted work to observe the ceremony.

"It was very touching," Detective Kirk Delpo said.

Delpo was among the hundreds of officers, civic leaders and friends who gathered yesterday morning to pay homage to Burke, 39, a 16-year veteran of the force known for his dedication to duty and his community. He was a vigorous officer who carried a sledgehammer in the trunk of his cruiser to break down doors, when necessary, to execute search warrants.

D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey, who recounted the chill he felt when he listened to the 911 tape Friday morning, called Burke a "person who took action and wasn't afraid to do what needed to be done," even on his day off.

On the tape, Burke gave "very clear and concise direction" to help dispatchers send officers to the right spot on 11th Street in Northwest Washington, said Ramsey, who officially determined last week that Burke's death came in the performance of his professional duties.

The chief said he would ask the mayor to rename the 3rd Police District's substation, where Burke was assigned, in honor of the sergeant. Burke's badge will be retired in coming months, and there will be an official Gerard W. Burke Jr. class of police recruits, Ramsey added.

"His influence was tremendous," Ramsey said.

Burke, who was reared in New York state and graduated from Catholic University with a bachelor's degree in 1989, joined the District police department in 1990. He was engaged to be married. And he lived in the same Northwest Washington neighborhood -- Columbia Heights -- that he patrolled for the 3rd District. His funeral is scheduled for tomorrow in New York.

Commanders said Burke was a highly decorated officer who was commended for his work on a federal task force in the 1990s by the FBI director at the time, Louis J. Freeh. He received the police department's bronze star award for giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in 1997 to fellow D.C. officer Brian T. Gibson, who had been ambushed and shot on a Northwest Washington street. Ramsey credited Burke's efforts with keeping Gibson alive long enough for family members to visit his hospital bed before his death. Burke also was named the 2005 sergeant of the year for the 3rd District.

Police officers said Burke was not afraid to help people in need.

He once gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to an elderly homeless man who had been attacked. The man was a well-known intravenous drug user. Police officials said other officers might have shied away from such direct contact. After trying to save the man's life, Burke then scrambled around the scene to help gather evidence that led to a suspect's arrest in the case, said Cmdr. Larry McCoy, Burke's boss.

A friend and colleague, Officer Richard T. Feser, remembered Burke this way to mourners at yesterday's service: He "accomplished in 16 years what many accomplish in a lifetime."