'We'll take it from here'; Everett community reacts to officer killed in line of duty

EVERETT, Wash. - The community is mourning the loss of not just an Everett police officer, but a man who they said touched the community.

A tribute for Officer Dan Rocha continued to grow outside the North Precinct in Everett.

People came by on Saturday to drop off flowers and messages honoring Rocha.

Many of them said they have a personal connection to him.

"I think it's just really tragic that it's happening really frequently now, than it used to be. So, it was just really sad," Tiffany Becerra said.

For Becerra, this somber moment is a time for teaching, too.

With her toddler in her arms, she brought flowers to honor the fallen officer.

"I think it's really good for the little ones to know that cops are okay and just respectful to everybody, and I think it's just good for the little ones to know," she told FOX 13 News.

Many people had the same thought, coming to add to a tribute for the 41-year-old man who was killed doing his job.

Rocha had been with the Everett Police Department since 2017.

Jobe Messer brought a Thin Blue Line hat he said is symbolic of a law enforcement family sticking together.

"It's tough anywhere, you now, losing officers every day across the nation and when it happens like this in your own neighborhood and violently like it did, it hits different, for sure," he said.

Countless arrangements of flowers cover a cruiser outside the North Precinct.

One of them bears a message, "We stand with your family in love," and on the ground, another message reads, "We will take it from here."

Rocha leaves behind a wife and two sons.

People we talked with said he touched their lives.

"It's really just a tragic loss, because he helped me when I had an abusive home situation, so it's kind of hard to look at and reading about the way that things went down, it's just hard to think about when he helped me," Marissa Henry said.

Now, this heartfelt memorial grows, flags are at half-staff and a community reaches out to lift up those who put their lives on the line to protect them.

"I just appreciate what, you know, all these men and women do for us, you know, I mean, it's thankless to a point but at the same time, there's so many of us that care out here," Messer said.

As the tribute continued to grow, those we talked with said they want to make sure the Everett Police Department and Rocha's family both know that they have their back.

RELATED: Police: Suspect shot Everett officer multiple times, killing him

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