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ALS claims life of respected Phoenix police officer
“One thing we can all remember about Brian Howe is, he was never a quitter,” said Phoenix police chaplain Tom Garasha. The chaplain spoke to family and friends and members of the valley’s law enforcement Saturday, August 8, 2009 during memorial services for Howe, 41, who passed away on July 29, 2009. Officer Howe, a 19-year veteran of the Phoenix Police Department, spent the last eight years as a sniper with the Special Assignments Unit. He was diagnosed nearly four years ago with a disease that would send him into a fight greater than any he’d encountered during his law enforcement career.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord resulting in muscle weakness and atrophy. The disease was recognized nationally in 1939 when baseball’s Lou Gehrig abruptly retired after discovering he had ALS. Most commonly, the disease strikes people between the ages of 40 and 70, and as many as 30,000 Americans have the disease at any given time.
Officer Howe was loved and respected by many as was evident during an emotional service held in his memory on Saturday, August 8, 2009 at Christ Church of the Valley in Peoria. He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline, and 10 year-old twins, Jeren and Brooke.
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