Boulder police officer Eric Talley would have been “deeply offended” to know that his death was being used to push for stricter gun control measures, his father told TMZ in an interview on Thursday.
Talley was one of ten people killed in a mass shooting that took place at a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, on Monday. According to CNN, the 51-year-old father of seven was the first Boulder police officer to respond to a call of shots fired, and he is the first Boulder police officer to fall in the line of duty in nearly 30 years.
His father told the entertainment news outlet, however, that Talley would have been shocked to know that his death was being used by federal legislators — and even the president — to push for greater restrictions on guns, and that his son was a supporter of Second Amendment rights and owned his own AR-15.
“My son would have been deeply offended to know his death would be used to promote gun control. Before he was an officer, he enjoyed shooting,” Homer Talley told TMZ.
Homer Talley also resisted suggesting that Monday’s mass shooting was indicative of any larger problem with guns, gun culture, or violence. Talley told TMZ that the massacre was “a senseless act and that is just it. The situation [Eric] found himself in wasn’t one that the government could protect him from.”
“Just because some wacko goes around shooting people doesn’t mean guns need to be taken away. You can’t take away enough guns to protect this country,” Talley added. “To take away that freedom completely is something I am against and my son was against.”
Talley later added that he is coming to terms with his son’s death and working to forgive his attacker.
“My family and my son are people of faith, we understand forgiveness and that is necessary for not just the shooter, but for ourselves,” he said.
The alleged gunman was in court in Boulder on Thursday, where he was arranged on 10 counts of first-degree murder. Although law enforcement has yet to establish a firm motive in the shooting, the alleged gunman’s family told media on Tuesday that they believe he suffers from mental illness, and a number of people who came into contact with the alleged shooter in the past reported erratic and often aggressive behavior.
The alleged gunman was also reportedly “known to the FBI” because he was connected to another individual that the FBI had under investigation.
President Joe Biden and other Democrats have proposed a number of gun control measures in the wake of Monday’s mass shooting, including passage of two House bills dramatically expanding federal background checks and curbing some gun sales, and, potentially, executive orders.
Boulder’s police chief honored Eric Talley in a press conference earlier this week, noting that Talley had joined the police department as a second career after spending most of his life working in business and technology.
“I have to tell you the heroic action of this officer when he responded to the scene,” she said. “He didn’t have to go into policing, but he felt a higher calling.”
She added that Talley “willing to die to protect others” and that he was “everything policing deserves and needs.”