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Widow's children help her cope
The Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio) ^ | Aug. 14, 2002 | Karalee Miller

Posted on 08/14/2002 4:37:43 PM PDT by ResistorSister

JuWanna Taylor, widow of slain Massillon Patrolman Eric B. Taylor, is finding the strength to cope from the most precious gifts her husband gave her: their two young children.

``My children are what have kept me going,'' Taylor said Tuesday at the family's home in Massillon. ``You have to put you on the back burner. They need their mother.''

Taylor, 31, said she has tried to keep her children, Ty, 2, and Lauren, 1, as close to their regular daily schedules as possible since her husband was shot and killed Friday night while on duty. Eric Taylor, 31, joined the Massillon department in 1998.

``He's usually here,'' she said. ``Now, Mom's here instead of Dad. I've just tried to keep them in as much of a routine as possible.''

The routine for the household saw Tuesdays as Dad's day with the children, Taylor said.

``He let me have a day to myself. He was an excellent father.''

As the days go by, Taylor said, coping with her husband's death is becoming more difficult.

``When everything happened (on Friday), I just went numb. And since then, there has always been somebody here... This is the first time I've kind of been by myself,'' she said. ``The numbness is starting to wear off.''

Whether it was playing with the children or doing household chores, Taylor said her husband always took care of his family.

``There are not many men out there like that,'' she said, ``but my husband was. He cooked, he cleaned, he changed diapers. He did everything... We raised our children together.''

Taylor said she also has found comfort in the many friends and family members who have been by her side.

``We're just staying here and making sure she's OK,'' said JuMekia Jones, JuWanna Taylor's sister. Jones, 24, arrived from California on Saturday.

The first time Taylor saw her future husband, she knew he was someone special.

``I said to my friend, `Ooh, that's a cute guy,' '' Taylor said, remembering when they met in 1994. Her friend happened to know Eric and called him over.

``We exchanged phone numbers that night,'' Taylor said. ``On the way home, I told my friend, `He's going to be my husband.' ''

Five years later, he was.

Her husband's line of work was a worry for Taylor in the past.

``Lately, I didn't worry much at all,'' she said. ``I just thought this (Massillon) was a safe place to work.''

When one of Eric Taylor's fellow officers pulled into the family's driveway Friday night to inform JuWanna her husband had been shot, she thought it was her husband coming home, she said.

``My husband would check on us a lot,'' she said.

Even when the officer rang the doorbell, she still didn't think anything of it, she said.

``I just thought he forgot his key at work,'' she said. ``I just opened the door and walked away from it.''

When the officer told her that her husband had been shot, Taylor said she ``freaked out.''

``I froze,'' she said. ``I said, `I've got to get my babies.' ''

Taylor said Massillon police officers have shared information surrounding her husband's death so she can know as much as possible.

``He engaged the suspect, not knowing he was armed,'' she said officers told her.

Taylor said officers told her that her husband tried to exit his car through the passenger-side door when Donald W. Matthews, 61, of Jackson Township fired.

``The car was still in drive and kept rolling, but he managed to escape from the car,'' she said.

When the gunfire ceased, Eric Taylor, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, had been fatally shot. Matthews also had been shot dead.

While her husband always had a way of making others smile, Taylor said it was tough to get him to grin for a camera.

``He wasn't big on taking pictures,'' she said, laughing. Taylor said she had to ``basically beg'' her husband to sit for a family photo about six months ago.

``I am so glad I did that,'' she said.

Taylor said she has been overwhelmed by the community's outpouring of support.

``I can't express into words how appreciative I am and how it feels to know that he has gotten a response like this,'' she said.

Calling hours will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the Stewart & Calhoun funeral home, 529 W. Thornton St. in Akron. There also will be calling hours from 9 to 11 a.m. Friday at the House of the Lord, 1650 Diagonal Road in Akron. The funeral service will begin at 11 a.m.

Following the ceremony, Eric Taylor will be buried at Mount Peace Cemetery, 183 Aqueduct St. in Akron.

JuWanna Taylor said the services may bring ``a small amount of closure.''

``But also then it's the beginning of a life without him,'' she said. ``That's going to be the toughest.''


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; News/Current Events; US: Ohio
KEYWORDS: inthelineofduty; massillon
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To: Cultural Jihad
thank you for stating the obvious.

Normally I'd take that as an insult from you, but this time, You're Welcome! And thank you, too.

161 posted on 08/14/2002 8:50:35 PM PDT by Dakmar
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To: eastforker
Your hopeless, talking out of both sides of your mouth.
162 posted on 08/14/2002 8:51:30 PM PDT by habs4ever
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To: habs4ever
UPDATE: The constitution is not EVIL.
163 posted on 08/14/2002 8:52:22 PM PDT by eastforker
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To: habs4ever
Explain please?
164 posted on 08/14/2002 8:53:16 PM PDT by eastforker
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To: eastforker
I'm not going to go into whether the gut was Manson/Hitler evil or not, but he was definetly tetched. If it wasn't this, he probably would have shot a utility company employee who came out to shut off service for non-payment or something similar.
165 posted on 08/14/2002 8:54:00 PM PDT by Dakmar
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To: eastforker
Actually, people are never evil. They may be evildoers and commit evil acts. And you really ought to drop defending his actions vis a vis the Constitution. Just as he was no FReeper, so was he no upholder of the Constitution. He may have used the Constitution to wipe his anarchistic selfish, and self-centered butt, though.
166 posted on 08/14/2002 8:54:40 PM PDT by Cultural Jihad
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To: eastforker
If you gave jail time to every speeder guess what,you would have no more speeders.

So you favor jail time for speeders. I believe in the current system of fines and reporting to insurance companies as a deterent. It most certainly provides an incentive for drivers to follow driving regulations.

Traffic tickets are nothing more than revenue enhancement.It has nothing to do with public safety

More like a user payer system. Budgets in each county and city project an amount that they may expect to get from traffic fines. This amount offsets other amounts that would otherwise come from the general fund. Those ticketed drivers who are responsible for the need for traffic patrols are paying a portion of the price. It's fair.

167 posted on 08/14/2002 8:55:46 PM PDT by RGSpincich
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To: Dakmar
Oh well, being that he was 61 years old with out a history of any arrest and no warrants,seemed like a prety normal guy in some parts of the country.
168 posted on 08/14/2002 8:58:44 PM PDT by eastforker
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To: eastforker
So the cops just decided to kill Joe Citzen for kicks? Is that it?
169 posted on 08/14/2002 9:00:38 PM PDT by Dakmar
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To: RGSpincich
Wrong,zilch,bullshitt.Traffic laws should never be a source of revenue IMO.That only leads to more tickets for more revenue.Take out and lay off 2/3 of the police force and you wouldn't need the revenue,got it?
170 posted on 08/14/2002 9:04:09 PM PDT by eastforker
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To: Dakmar
Nope not for kicks,he was getting alot of people to fight their traffic tickets and have them file counter suites for illegal stops,the local judge was getting tired of them.This was a white guy that helped a bunch of blacks on their legal issues.
171 posted on 08/14/2002 9:08:42 PM PDT by eastforker
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To: eastforker

You are free to petition the government for a redress of grievances. You are also free to vote with your feet and move to Somalia if traffic laws are just way too much of a burden and personal sacrifice for you to bear. In addition, you are free to flaunt the traffic laws, and doing so you are free to accept the consequences of your actions, or you are free to whine and moan as a liberal victim does. You are the freest of men! (apart from me)

172 posted on 08/14/2002 9:12:42 PM PDT by Cultural Jihad
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To: eastforker
Calhoun said Matthews told him it’s unconstitutional to require him to have a license or to follow speeding laws, the report said. He added that Matthews said he would not honor a court summons or ticket and, “if an officer attempted to physically arrest him, he will kill that officer or officers to defend his freedom.”

Sounds like a psycho to me.

173 posted on 08/14/2002 9:19:29 PM PDT by Dakmar
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To: eastforker
That only leads to more tickets for more revenue.

How exactly does that happen? The more tickets you get the faster you go?

Take out and lay off 2/3 of the police force and you wouldn't need the revenue,got it?

I didn't say they needed revenue I said they used the revenue properly. The fines are to deter unsafe driving. The effect the fines and increased insurance costs have on the driver is what will act as a deterent. Laying off 2/3 of the police force would not achieve any such results and have would broader devastating effects. Of course, you knew that and that's what you liked about the idea.

174 posted on 08/14/2002 9:23:27 PM PDT by RGSpincich
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To: Dakmar
Again,believe nothing you read and only half of what you see.on either side of your beliefe.
175 posted on 08/14/2002 9:27:34 PM PDT by eastforker
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To: one_particular_harbour
Simple courtesy and politeness go a long way in police stops.

Not only that, but if you don't want to be hassled "capriciously," it would be advisable to keep your speed to below the posted limits.

176 posted on 08/14/2002 9:28:46 PM PDT by Trailerpark Badass
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To: RGSpincich
Again,sliding down the slippery slope
177 posted on 08/14/2002 9:30:39 PM PDT by eastforker
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To: RGSpincich
You are so full of bull shitt I can smell you from here,Tickets are nothing more than revenue enhancement,cut and dried.
178 posted on 08/14/2002 9:36:48 PM PDT by eastforker
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To: eastforker
you are preaching to the chior withthat one. I've been a lifelong sceptic, a moderate liberal turned conservative libertarian for about ten years, and a constant foe of Big Brother. I've read enough varied accounts to form an opinion based on the facts of this case. You are not going to change mind mind on this I won't change yours. Take care and drive safely.
179 posted on 08/14/2002 9:39:00 PM PDT by Dakmar
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To: eastforker
Ah ah ah...you may get a timeout of your very own. But thanks for another well reasoned post.
180 posted on 08/14/2002 9:41:27 PM PDT by RGSpincich
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