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Posted on Fri, Sep. 14, 2007

Killed Dade officer known for `exemplary job’

BY DAVID OVALLE, ROBERT SAMUELS AND AMY DRISCOLL
Officer Jose Somohano was a former schools police officer who became a hard-charging Miami-Dade cop dedicated to doing his job well, his colleagues said.

He was gunned down Thursday at age 37 on the streets he was sworn to protect. He leaves behind a wife and two children.

‘’He’s an awesome guy, great cop. Not a bad word I can say about him. I’m lost for words, I’m hurting that bad,’’ said Miami-Dade schools Detective J.T. Messenger, who worked with Somohano in the schools police department. ``It’s a sad, sad day.’’

Hired by Miami-Dade in October 2003, Somohano was assigned to the Cutler Ridge district, where he was working when Thursday’s assault occurred.

‘’He did an exemplary job. Anything you asked him to do, he did it,’’ said Maj. Carlos Garcia, who a few months ago promoted Somohano from uniform patrol to crime prevention detail.

Miami-Dade schools Sgt. Willie Tagle, a former colleague, called Somohano ``a hard worker, professional at all times, diligent in everything he did.’’

Three other Miami-Dade officers, all assigned to Cutler Ridge, were injured in the attack. Two — Christopher Carlin, 34, and Tomas Tundidor, 37 — were treated at hospitals and released by day’s end. The third, Jody Wright, 31 — remained in Jackson Memorial Hospital after hours of surgery.

The assault left the department reeling. ‘’The Cutler Ridge district is torn right now,’’ Garcia said.

Wright’s father Dennis Dalley, keeping vigil at the hospital, said his daughter had been determined to work in law enforcement and knew the risks.

‘Last month, I spoke to her about how she’d feel about getting hurt and she said to me, `I made the decision and what it will be . . . it will be,’ ‘’ Dalley said.

‘’She talked about wanting to be a CIA officer and figured she had to start somewhere. I supported her knowing that she was very disciplined since she was a child,’’ he said.

He learned the news of his daughter’s injury in Jamaica and flew to Miami on Thursday. ‘’I support her,’’ Dalley said. ``It’s a job that has to be done. There are crimes here. There are crimes in Jamaica. And they need to be stopped.’’

Hired in June 2005, Wright had been assigned to uniform patrol in the Cutler Ridge district. Born in Jamaica, she moved back and forth between the island and Miami and has a Shih Tzu named Marley, after singer Bob Marley, her father said.

He said she is a University of Miami graduate who is not married and has no children. Shot in the knee, she went through five hours of surgery Thursday. The attack damaged one of three blood vessels in her leg. Doctors told him his daughter would live but may not be able to walk again. Dalley, who spoke with her after the surgery, said her biggest concern was the lives of the other officers.

Carlin, hired in April 1994, began his law enforcement career as a public service aide, police said. Tundidor had been with the Cutler Ridge district since April 1993, and was hired by Miami-Dade in November 1989. He also had worked in the Kendall and Hammocks districts.

Maj. Charles E. Nanney, of the narcotics bureau, worked with Carlin and Tundidor in Cutler Ridge. He remembers Carlin as a ‘’hell of a street cop,’’ a reserve National Guardsman with a penchant for cuffing criminals.

Tundidor also has an uncle who is a police officer, and his wife is a civilian employee of Miami-Dade police, Nanney said. He spoke with Tundidor on Thursday evening.

‘’He’s sad, of course, because one of his brothers got killed. But he’s grateful to be alive,’’ Nanney said.

Miami Herald staff writer Jack Dolan contributed to this report.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/story/237031.html