Posted on 10/09/2007 4:21:43 AM PDT by dead
1 hour, 7 minutes ago
PHOENIX - David Spade has donated $25,000 to the family of a slain Phoenix police officer.
The 43-year-old comedian said that after reading about Officer Nick Erfle's death last month, he was "hit out of the blue" by the shooting and the fact that Erfle had overcome cancer to return to duty.
"I'm from Arizona so I'm always a little aware of things that are going on there," Spade, a Scottsdale native, told The Associated Press on Monday. "It just struck me as such a rough situation just because cops in general get kind of a bad rap lately and people forget it is the scariest job out there."
Spade, who stars on the CBS sitcom "Rules of Engagement," said he arranged for a money transfer into a bank account already established for public donations.
He has not spoken with Erfle's family or friends.
Spade said he hopes Erfle's wife was able to use the money for the funeral or other expenses. "I just thought I would throw something in the pile," he said.
Erfle, 33, was shot Sept. 18 on a busy street after attempting to arrest Erik Jovani Martinez. Martinez, a 22-year-old illegal immigrant who had been deported in March 2006, gave an alias to conceal an outstanding felony warrant. Unbeknownst to Martinez, the alias belonged to someone who also had an outstanding warrant.
Besides his wife, Erfle left behind two sons, ages 5 and 3.
Class act.
I never liked Spade in anything: up until now. Good story.
Impressive.
That was a thoughtful thing to do, I’m sure the family will appreciate the help. I wish Hollywood had more like him.
Very noble.
What are the odds of that?
On second thought...
It is a very nice thing to do. The thing that makes it a little less classy is that he went public about it. [I assume it was him and not the family]. It is almost as if he wanted the good press. If the donation were truely selfless, it should be annonymous.
Spade’s a jewel.
Bravo, David!! Standing O!
Not your typical Hollywood reaction ... kudos to Mr. Spade.
WOW!!! Fabulous.
Wonderful act.
More to the man than meets the eye.
“I wish Hollywood had more like him.”
Somewhere in Hollywood an Agent is reading this article and thinking “Dang! look at all the publicity a $25,000 contribution bought”.
Yes, but there's nothing wrong with setting a good example that others might see and be influenced by. Influenced to do something similar, I mean.
David Spade had a very show on Comedy Central called the Showbiz Show. It ran a few episodes only but was great. I think they cancelled it. I have always enjoyed his sense of skits/humor.
I liked the show “Just Shoot Me” and “Joe Dirt” was good too. Like his Momma used to say; “Is this what you want to be doing when Jesus comes back?”
You could be assuming wrong. The bank set up to receive the donations would know who made donations like his. They could have notified the trustee who in turn would have notified the media if they were smart. The reason is that Spades’ donation makes the fact that the fund exists more news worthy. It will now probably receive donations from all across the country instead of just the Arizona area.
If he was really a publicity seeker he would have called the media and made a big production of meeting with the family, cameras present, and handing them a large cardboard check.
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