FRIENDS of one of the three police officers killed in a shootout on a rural farm are remembering the brave cop as a hero who “cared more for people than himself.”
Tragedy struck police agencies in York County, Pennsylvania, on September 17 when five officers were ambushed at a farmhouse in North Codorus Township as they attempted to serve a warrant.
At the time, officers with the Northern York County Regional Police Department were searching for suspect Matthew James Ruth, who was wanted for allegedly stalking his ex-girlfriend.
The search for Ruth, 24, led authorities to his ex-girlfriend’s farmhouse, where she lived with her mother.
However, as officers attempted to serve the warrant, they noticed the entrance to the home was unlocked and as they opened the door, they were fired upon immediately by Ruth, David Lash, the Northern York County Regional police chief, said.
What followed was a deadly shootout between Ruth and multiple officers from other police agencies who responded to the active scene.
In total, five officers were shot; three from the Northern York County Regional Police Department suffered fatal gunshot wounds.
Ruth died in the shootout with authorities.
The officers were identified as Detective Mark Baker, 53, Detective Isaiah Emenheiser, 43, and Detective Sergeant Cody Becker, 39.
HOMETOWN HERO
Andy Ziegler, a childhood friend of Becker, mourned the loss of former high school football teammate after learning that he was among the officers who were killed in the attack.
“Cody was special. He was a great friend, he was a great husband, he was a great father, he was a great son for his parents, and he was a great officer,” Ziegler told The U.S. Sun.
Ziegler said Becker “epitomized Spring Grove” – his hometown in York County where the beloved officer was raised and was a star student-athlete in high school.
“Cody epitomized Spring Grove. He never stopped giving back. He was a star on the wrestling mat and the football field, and then became a star on the police force that protects our community,” the distraught friend added.
Ray Neiderer Jr. said he was heartbroken when he learned about his long-time friend’s death, but reminisced about the backyard baseball games and wrestling matches growing up.
“Cody was simply the best of our society,” Neiderer Jr. told The U.S. Sun.
“He excelled at everything he did, not because it came natural but because he worked hard and made things happen.
“He always had a smile and would do anything for you. He was a person of great character and gave enormous respect for others.”
Roxy, who declined to provide her last name, told The U.S. Sun that Becker “cared more for people than he did himself.”
“He was a great officer. I knew him ever since I was 13 years old, I’m 24 now. He gave me the best advice in life,” she said, grieving the beloved officer.
Ziegler added, “He made the ultimate sacrifice protecting his hometown. Spring Grove will never forget Cody Becker.”
ULTIMATE SACRIFICE
On Thursday, a ceremony will be held for the three police officers at Living Word Community Church in York County.
Friends of Isaiah Emenheiser, a fitness lover and father-of-two, remembered him as a selfless detective who strived to make his community safer.
“Isaiah remains the hardest working most selfless man I’ve ever met,” Colin Bright wrote in a tribute on Facebook.
“He served his community as a police officer and as a detective helping make the place he grew up and loved safer for everyone.
“There are countless stories I could tell and examples I could share that would help everyone understand just how amazing he was. I miss him more than any words could ever describe.”
Roosevelt Poplar, the president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 5 in Philadelphia, said Mark Baker was loved by all his colleagues on the force.
“I know a lot of officers that did work with Mark, and there was nothing but glowing things (said) about him, his personality, how he was as an officer the three years that he spent with us,” Poplar told CBS affiliate KYW-TV.
DEADLY AMBUSH
The deadly ambush unfolded at around 2 pm on September 17 as authorities opened the front door of a farmhouse in their search for Matthew James Ruth.
Earlier that afternoon, officers visited Ruth’s home in Penn Township, but did not locate him.
After speaking to family members of the suspect, authorities moved to the farmhouse in North Codorus Township.
Authorities had visited the home the day before after the suspect’s ex-girlfriend’s mother reported to police that their trail camera spotted Ruth on their property, according to York County District Attorney Tim Barker.
The cameras reportedly captured Ruth wearing camouflage and looking into their house with binoculars, the woman told authorities.
The unidentified woman said the family installed the trail cameras after an incident on August 20 where someone set her daughter’s car on fire on their driveway.
Investigators said trail camera photos captured Ruth on property carrying an AR-15-style rifle across his shoulders.
