Officer Gary J. Buro - American Hero

Officer Had Faced Tragedy
(from the Richmond Times Dispatch, May 5, 2006)

Gary J. Buro had done big-city police work.

He was an officer in New York City for six years.

He also had faced adversity and personal loss -- the deaths of his wife and her parents in a car crash.

After service as a Marine in Operation Desert Storm, he worked as a patrol officer for the Lantana Police Department in Palm Beach County, Fla., about 50 miles north of Miami, before moving to New York.

He relocated to Virginia this year, looking for a change of pace, family members said yesterday.

"He wanted to have different roots," said his uncle, Ron Cook, who lives in New York City.

Less than four months after joining the Chesterfield County Police Department, Buro, 34, was shot to death early yesterday. Buro and officer Joseph G. Diman were responding to a domestic dispute in the Ettrick community.

Diman, 26, also was shot -- at least five times -- and is recovering at VCU Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. The suspect, William M. Anderson, 34, died from wounds in the exchange of gunfire.

Family members described Buro as selfless.

Funeral Information

A memorial service for officer Buro will be held Monday, May 8 at 11 a.m. at Victory Tabernacle Church of God, 11700 Genito Road, Midlothian, VA.

Additional arrangements are being made for a service in Denville, N.J., and burial in Pompano Beach, Fla., next week.