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Published on KPHO - December 24, 2009
PHOENIX -- To most people he was officer Chris Marano, but for those who knew the man behind the uniform, he was much more.
"Chris came to work with the department of public safety May 22, 2006,” Department Public Safety Director Roger Vanderpool said during Marano’s funeral service. “And I can tell you I'm glad he did and I would truly love to have another 100 officers just like him."
Marano's service began as a Navy SEAL and later transitioned to the Department of Public Safety, but underneath badge number 6759 was a dedicated family man.
"And on that night,” pastor Mark Knister read, looking at Marano’s wife, Shelly, referring to the night Marano was killed on duty. “When we were with you at the hospital Shelly, and we were leaving and you were sitting on the floor, little Savanah sitting with you, and the words that came out of Savanah's sweet little mouth, 'My daddy was a good daddy'....And I said, 'Yeah...he was.'"
"The character that shaped Chris wasn't that of the military or that of the DPS, but it was that of his family," Navy SEAL Rey Baviera read during his eulogy.
Marano left behind three daughters. His wife closed Wednesday's service.
"Baby you know I'm here and you've worked very hard, and you're very tired,” Shelley Marano read as she wept. “It’s time you rest now, I'll take it from here, I love you."
Published in the The Arizona Republic - December 23, 2009
Hundreds of law-enforcement officers from around the state gathered at a large church in Peoria on Wednesday to bid farewell to Chris Marano, a 28-year-old Department of Public Safety officer killed last week while trying to stop a police pursuit.
The somber service lasted for more than two hours and was punctuated with doses of laughter when speakers recalled Marano's notorious nature as a goofball.
There were also plenty of tears shed for the 3½- year employee of DPS and Navy veteran who leaves behind his wife, Shelly, and four girls: 7-year-old Savanna, 5-year-olds Saleen and Brianna and 4-month-old Bella.
Nearly everyone noted Marano's tough side - he twice went through the grueling training to qualify as a Navy SEAL - along with his loyalty and determination.
"I would truly love to have another 100 officers just like him," DPS Director Roger Vanderpool said during the eulogy at Christ Church of the Valley. "This was a young man with lots of heart and lots of guts."
Vanderpool was joined at the service by dignitaries, including Gov. Jan Brewer and U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke, in addition to throngs of police, deputies, Border Patrol agents and fire fighters from all over Arizona.
Marano died Thursday night after he laid down a spike strip to stop an SUV that was speeding down the Loop 101 trying to escape another DPS officer. The fleeing driver swerved on to the right shoulder as the SUV approached the spike strip, and the pursuing officer struck Marano.
Georgia Lynn Baker, 43, is accused of leading the chase that precipitated Marano's death.
A criminal complaint was filed against Baker on Tuesday accusing her of first-degree murder and fleeing from law enforcement.
Friends said Marano knew the risks of his job, just as he did while serving in the Navy, and performed his duties without fear.
But that tough exterior hid a tender side.
"Every conversation I had with that young man, every conversation, Chris wept," pastor Mike Chong Perkinson told the crowd, noting that Marano was, "going out in the way that we all know Chris: serving us and taking care of us."
Marano's wife, Shelly, a Department of Corrections Officer at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Lewis, looked down at Marano's flag-draped coffin after she read a poem and made a final promise to her husband.
"You've worked very hard, and you're very tired. It's time you rest now. I'll take it from here," she said.
Donations can be made to the Christopher Marano Memorial Fund at Desert Schools Federal Credit Union, account No. 4326392835.
Published in the KPHO Phoenix - December 20, 2009
PHOENIX -- Funeral services are set for Wednesday for the Arizona Department of Public Safety DPS officer killed while trying to stop a fleeing suspect on a north Phoenix freeway.
DPS officer Chris Marano, 28, was laying down spike strips on Loop 101 and Seventh Street to stop the vehicle Georgia Baker, 43, of Phoenix, is accused of driving when he was struck and killed by a DPS patrol car involved in the chase.
Marano’s funeral is set for 10 a.m. Dec. 23 at Christ Church of the Valley, 7007 W. Happy Valley Road, in Peoria.
A public visitation is planned for Tuesday, Dec. 22, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Shadow Mountain Mortuary, 2350 E. Greenway Road.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Christopher Marano Memorial Fund, which has been established at:
Desert Schools Federal Credit Union (DSFCU)
Account: #4326392835
Marano, 28, was a father of four who worked for DPS for more than three years.
Baker pulled off the freeway, fled on foot and was captured hiding on the balcony of a condominium.
Police said she is a repeat offender who recently got out of prison.
Baker has been convicted eight times since 2000 on a variety of charges, and served two years in prison beginning in 2005 on a burglary conviction, said Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Doug Matteson.
She once worked for a Tempe tile company, Atlas Design. The owner told the court he took a chance on her -- and she repaid him by breaking in, deactivating the alarm, then stealing credit card machines and employee files.
Prescott police launched a five-day manhunt for Baker and her boyfriend after an officer spotted them in a stolen car. Baker eluded cops initially when “she pulled out a revolver and placed it to her head and threatened suicide,” according to court records.
“What stands out is she’s a product of the system. She's been in and out of our custody in Maricopa County since 2000," said Deputy Doug Matteson, of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.
Baker also got a few breaks from the system, taking plea deals and receiving probation for a number of crimes.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s office did not comment on Baker’s plea deals.
Baker eventually spent two-and-a-half years in the Arizona prison system after violating the terms of her probation.
The pursuit began near 56th Street and Loop 101 when DPS officers tried to pull Georgia Lynn Baker, 43, over because the license plate of the SUV she was driving was reported stolen, DPS said. With the help of a witness, Phoenix police officers caught up with her at a condominium complex a few miles away.
She had ditched the SUV and was hiding in a bush when officers and their dogs arrived, a witness said.
The 100 Club said it will be providing assistance to Marano's wife Shelley Marano, who is a correctional officer, and his four children, ages 7, 5, 5 and 4 months.
Sharon Knutson-Felix, 100 Club's executive director, said what the other officer is feeling is hard to comprehend but she's convinced the Valley's law enforcement community will step forward and help this officer cope with what happened.
"I think it's just like with your children," she said. "If they make a mistake, you will rally around them and you'll help them get through this," Felix said.
"We prepare ourselves for taking another life, which is tough, but not one of our own," said DPS Lt. Jim Warriner. "He'll have to live with that. It will stick with him a long time. He will definitely need some counseling."
DPS would not reveal the name of the officer who hit Marano. The officer sustained a broken hand in the accident and will need surgery.
Harrison said the officer is shaken knowing his actions contributed to Marano's death.
"He knows he struck the officer. And now he knows that his actions contributed to the officer's death," Harrison said. "He's having a very difficult time with that, as you can well imagine."
Published in the Arizona Republic - December 19, 2009
For years, Sunday evening was family-dinner night for Arizona Department of Public Safety Officer Chris Marano; his wife, Shelly; and their daughters.
That's when the Maranos would go over to Shelly's father's house.
On those evenings, Marano and his father-in-law, Dave Lyons, would step outside to the patio, and Marano would regale Lyons with war stories from DPS, where Marano worked for 3 1/2 years.
Those stories are one of the many things Lyons will miss about his son-in-law, who was struck and killed late Thursday by another DPS officer in pursuit of a fleeing motorist. Marano is survived by his wife and four young daughters.
"He was all business on the outside," Lyons said. "That's why he was a police officer. He didn't use it to intimidate either. He was just naturally that way."
A public visitation will be Tuesday from 7 to 9 p.m. at Shadow Mountain Mortuary, 2350 E. Greenway Road, Phoenix. The funeral will be Wednesday at 10 a.m. at Christ Church of the Valley, 7007 W. Happy Valley Road, Peoria.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Christopher Marano Memorial Fund at Desert Schools Federal Credit Union, account number 4326392835.
More information from the accident investigation is expected to be released Monday, said Lt. Steve Harrison, a DPS spokesman.
Marano, 28, was struck on Loop 101 near Seventh Avenue. He was on the freeway to lay down a spike strip to help end a police chase.
According to DPS, Phoenix resident Georgia Baker, 43, was driving a car with a stolen license plate when she was spotted by officers. As she fled west on Loop 101, Marano was called to assist.
Authorities say Baker swerved onto the right shoulder to avoid the spike strip, and the DPS officer pursuing her struck Marano in the right-hand lane.
He was taken to John C. Lincoln Hospital-North Mountain, where he was pronounced dead.
Baker was later apprehended at a northeast Phoenix condominium.
On Saturday, she was still awaiting surgery for a dog bite she suffered during her apprehension, but police say she is expected to be booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail on suspicion of murder.
Lyons described Marano as an organized father who regularly worked until midnight or 2 a.m., then woke his daughters early and drove them to school.
Marano and his wife were approaching their third wedding anniversary in February, Shelly said.
The Maranos were members of Estrella Mountain Church in Surprise, where Chris was recently baptized.
Shelly said their 7-year-old, Savanna, told her Thursday night that "she wanted to be baptized so she could go to heaven and get angel wings like daddy."
Published on KNXV-TV - December 19, 2009
NEW RIVER, AZ -- Department of Public Safety officers were remembering two of their own at a benefit concert in New River Saturday.
Thursday night, Officer Chris Marano was killed while trying to stop a fleeing suspect involved in a high speed chase.
The tragedy comes just weeks after another DPS officer was seriously injured in a crash.
Ken Henscheid is still recovering from injuries suffered when he was struck by an out of control semi-tractor trailer just south of Flagstaff over the Thanksgiving weekend.
A benefit concert for Henscheid was planned before Marano's death.
The concert Saturday night took place at the Roadrunner Bar and Grill, off Interstate 17 at the New River exit.
The members of a band called "Another Shot" were setting up Saturday afternoon. All are DPS officers and many knew Officer Marano.
"He was always there to lend a helping hand," said Ross Reid, the drummer for the band. "He will be missed."
"There is a tremendous sense of loss," said Mike McCall who is also in the band and spear-headed Saturday's fundraising effort. "Every time we go out there we risk our lives."
The proceeds from the concert will go to Officer Henscheid and his family. The band members are already organizing a separate concert for Officer Marano's family.
A fund has been set up for Officer Henscheid at National Bank of Arizona branches.
The 100 Club is assisting Officer Marano's family.
Published in the Arizona Republic - December 19, 2009
Father of 4 struck by patrol car while trying to stop suspect
Chris Marano committed his life to serving his country and keeping his community safe.
A thief Thursday night took that life away, authorities say.
The Department of Public Safety officer was struck and killed on Loop 101 by another DPS officer. Marano had just set out a spike strip to stop a motorist fleeing police. The motorist veered to avoid it. The officer in pursuit hit Marano.
Marano was a 28-year-old married father of four. The motorist was a 43-year-old Phoenix woman with a record of theft and fleeing from police. She was driving a car with a stolen license plate, authorities said.
"Clearly, she facilitated this event," DPS Lt. Steve Harrison said Friday. "All she had to do was stop and pull over to the shoulder."
Georgia Lynn Baker was expected to be booked into Fourth Avenue Jail late Friday on suspicion of murder.
Marano's family gathered Friday at his home in Surprise to remember him. Family members described Marano as a tough Navy veteran who turned into a "marshmallow" when it came to his wife, Shelly, and their girls: 7-year-old Savanna, 5-year-olds Saleen and Brianna and 4-month-old Bella.
It was time with their family that drove Chris and Shelly to work opposite shifts in law enforcement, he at DPS and she as an officer at the Department of Corrections.
Those girls were always on his mind, Shelly said.
When no one else could get the youngest to sleep, Chris would put Bella on his chest and she would doze off.
"Unfortunately, that's not going to happen anymore," Shelly said.
Fatal call
What turned out to be the fatal call came in shortly before 9:30 p.m. when a DPS officer spotted a car with a stolen license plate traveling on Loop 101 near 64th Street in north Phoenix.
As the car sped west, the officer called ahead for support. Marano was there to lay down the spike strip to burst the car's tires and stop the pursuit.
After Marano laid the strip down, Baker veered her car to the right onto the shoulder, authorities said. The DPS officer, still in pursuit, struck Marano in the right-hand lane.
Baker later fled on foot, police said. She was tracked by a K-9 unit to a condominium in northeast Phoenix, where police say she unscrewed the bulb of a porch light to hide amid the shadows. Officers suspect she was on drugs.
Investigators are still piecing together the accident.
"We don't have all the answers today, and we may not have some answers ever," Harrison said.
As officers converged on the scene, it was one of Marano's friends on the force who tried to give him life support, Harrison said.
Marano was taken to John C. Lincoln Hospital-North Mountain, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 10 p.m.
'Always laughing'
It was an abrupt and violent end to a lifetime of adventure and service that started in Minneapolis.
Marano grew up in the Twin Cities and attended Washburn High School, a large school on Minneapolis' south side, where he was a varsity swimmer.
After school, he enlisted in the Navy, where he worked as a military police officer while stationed in Italy.
While there, he earned letters of commendation and appreciation. He also reconnected with his Italian roots; he found a town called Marano.
His mother, Katherine, recalled how excited he was to share that news with her.
"He was one of those people who was always laughing, always smiling," she said.
Marano's life eventually led him to Arizona, where he joined DPS as an officer 3 1/2 years ago.
Criminal history
While Marano was about law and order, Baker was in and out of jail for much of her adult life.
She received probation for trying to use a stolen ID card in 2002. She was later sentenced to six months in jail for stealing a car in 2003, according to court records.
A crime spree in 2004 led to a sentence of three years in prison.
In April of that year, Baker broke into the Tempe offices of her former employer, Atlas Design Center, and stole credit-card machines and employee files, according to court records.
Less than a month later, she and her boyfriend stole a car in Yavapai County, records say. When police approached them, she put a gun to her head and threatened suicide.
The couple evaded police for five days.
'AZ DPS rules'
Jimmy Chavez, a DPS sergeant who serves as president of the Arizona Highway Patrolmen's Association, said the fatal accident raises concerns about repeat offenders who have a history of violence against police.
"Every time we step out, we're leaving ourselves vulnerable," Chavez said.
That message is always on the minds of members of the 100 Club, which provides financial aid to officers and firefighters seriously injured or killed in the line of duty.
Angela Harrolle, whose husband, DPS medic Bruce Harrolle, was killed in October 2008 during a helicopter accident, recently had reconnected with the 100 Club, offering to help the next family coping with a line of duty death, said Sharon Knutson Felix, the 100 Club's executive director.
"I'm sure when I was talking to her, neither of us thought that would happen so soon," Knutson Felix said.
Shelly's last contact with her husband was at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, a little more than an hour before he was hit. He had sent a text-message.
Like many of his messages, it expressed his love for his job and his family.
"I love you so much honey kisses ill be thinking of you," the text read, followed by the signature he used with messages: "AZ DPS rules"
Shelly saved the text.
Published in the Associated Press - December 18, 2009
PHOENIX - An Arizona law officer was struck and killed by another officer's patrol car while he was laying down spike strips to stop a vehicle during a high-speed freeway chase, authorities said Friday.
The officer, Chris Marano, 28, of the Phoenix suburb of Surprise, was a father of four who worked for the Arizona Department of Public Safety for more than three years.
The chase reached speeds of 100 mph, starting late Thursday after a vehicle was spotted with a stolen license plate on a north Phoenix freeway, Lt. Steve Harrison said. One DPS officer pursued the vehicle, and Marano laid down spike strips near an overpass in an attempt to stop the driver.
Witnesses said Marano was standing in the right shoulder of the westbound freeway when he was hit by the DPS cruiser, Harrison said.
The fleeing driver exited the freeway, then ran away and was captured hiding on the balcony of a condominium.
Police arrested Georgia Lynn Baker, 43, of Phoenix. Baker was bitten by a police dog and expected to remain in the hospital until late Friday for minor surgery, DPS spokesman Bart Graves said. She is believed to have been under the influence of drugs at the time of the chase.
Once she is released from the hospital, Baker will be booked into Maricopa County Jail on felony murder charges in connection with Marano's death, Harrison said.
"Clearly she facilitated this event. All she had to do was stop, pull over to the shoulder and there would have never been a pursuit or this traffic collision resulting in the death of Officer Marano," Harrison said.
Graves said DPS guidelines for pursuits were met because Baker was driving recklessly and endangering the public.
Arizona court records show Baker has had several run-ins with the law in the past decade, including vehicle theft, burglary, forgery and theft charges. She served most of a three-year prison term for combined cases from Maricopa and Yavapai counties and was released in September 2007, according to a corrections department spokesman.
DPS would not reveal the name of the officer who hit Marano. The officer sustained a broken hand in the accident and will need surgery.
Harrison said the officer is shaken knowing his actions contributed to Marano's death.
"He knows he struck the officer. And now he knows that his actions contributed to the officer's death," Harrison said. "He's having a very difficult time with that, as you can well imagine."
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer ordered flags at state buildings flown half staff "to honor and recognize one of Arizona's finest."
Marano was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minn., and graduated from Washburn High School in Minneapolis. He then joined the Navy, where he was a military police officer from 2000 to 2005 and remained in the Naval reserve until 2008.
Marano is survived by his wife, Shelly Marano, and children ages 7, 5, 5, and 4 months.
Published on KTAR - December 18, 2009
PHOENIX - An Arizona Department of Public Safety Officer was killed Thursday night after he was struck by another DPS Officer's patrol car during a high speed chase on the Loop 101 in north Phoenix.
DPS Lt. Stephen Harrison identifies the officer as 28-year-old Chris Marano, a married father of four, between the ages of 7-years-old and 4-months-old, who worked for DPS for three and a-half years.
Harrison said that as an officer pursued a suspect driving at a high speed west on the 101, Marano laid down spike strips near the 7th Street overpass.
Harrison said the DPS vehicle struck Marano in the roadway.
Afterward Marano was transported to John C. Lincoln North Mountain Hospital where he died.
Harrison says investigators are trying to figure out whether the suspect's car also hit him. "Witnesses that observed the collision said the suspect vehicle actually swerved into the shoulder towards our officer.
"We don't know if our officer tried to jump out of the way of the suspect's car and jumped into the path of our patrol car or exactly how the collision occurred."
Harrison says "it's too early to speculate" why Marano was in that particular position when he set the spike strips. "We don't know if the officer was trying to get into that position to deploy them and the suspect, because of the speeds involved, just mis-timed it or if the suspect swerved towards our officer."
Harrison says the officer in the car suffered a broken hand.
Harrison said police tracked down the suspect vehicle at 5th Avenue and Tonopah Drive and arrested a 43-year-old woman identified as Georgia Lynn Baker. The suspect suffered a bite from a police canine.
Baker was transported to a local hospital for treatment. Investigators believe she was impaired by drugs.
Harrison said Baker will be booked on felony murder charges.
In a statement released Friday afternoon, Marano's wife, Shelly, said her husband "was the love of my life, my world and my knight in shining armor."
DPS Dispatcher Misty Snyder spent time with Marano's family overnight.
"She [wife] does have family here in town, so the family support was there immediately," she said.
"I felt privileged to be there with them knowing, in a way, what they're going through."
Snyder's father, a DPS officer, died 12 years ago in an accident on the Loop 202. She now aids other families who have lost loved ones in the line of duty.
The 100 Club, an organization that helps the families of fallen police officers, will donate $15,000 dollars to Marano's family.
"Money is never going to take the place of a person," said 100 Club Executive Director Sharon Knutson. "It's not going to lessen their grief, but it's going to help the situation and take some of the pressure off of the day-to-day things that they have to deal with, and now obviously the loss."
The chase that led to Marano's death reached speeds of 100 miles per hour.
It started on the Loop 101 near 56th Street after the suspect vehicle was spotted with a stolen license plate.
Published on KPNX - December 17, 2009
Officer Chris Marano was killed overnight after another officer accidentally hit him with his patrol vehicle. The Department of Public Safety tells 12 News it all started after 9:00 last night when an officer spotted a stolen car being driven on the Loop 101 at 56th Street. A pursuit began and speeds reached up to 100 miles per hour. Officer Marano became involved when he started to lay stop sticks down on the freeway east of 7th Street to stop the suspect car. It was at that time he was hit by another officer's car. Investigators are unsure as to whether or not the suspect car also hit Marano.
The suspect in the case, a 43 year old woman, who has yet to be identified, was found nearby at 5th Avenue and Tonopah. The woman was located by canines at a townhome on the porch. Police say she was biten by a dog and arrested. She is expected to face charges of driving a stolen vehicle, enaging in a pursuit and perhaps an additional charge involving the felony murder law. That's when someone is killed during the act of a felony, they can be charged with murder.
The officer who struck Marana broke his hand during the accident and is said to be very upset. He and Officer Marana were good friends, according to police. Meantime, Officer Marana was 28 years old, he was on the force for 2 years and leaves behind a wife and 4 children. The children are 7 years old, 5 years old, 5 years old and 4 months.
In Memory of Officer Chris Marano
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