April 17, 2014
By Geeta Goindi
Children performing on Vaisakhi at the Guru Gobind Singh Foundation in Rockville, MD
April 17, 2014
By Geeta Goindi
Children performing on Vaisakhi at the Guru Gobind Singh Foundation in Rockville, MD
Rockville, MD – In a profoundly moving ceremony on April 13, Lieutenant Brian Murphy, the first officer to respond to the Oak Creek Gurudwara shooting, was honored on Vaisakhi at the Guru Gobind Singh Foundation. This bravest of the brave police officers was shot 15 times while saving others inside the Sikh sanctuary.
Tributes have poured in from all quarters, from all across the country and outside, for the exemplary public defender ever since that fateful day, August 5, 2012, when white supremacist Wade Michael Page killed six worshipers at the Gurudwara, and seriously injured three others, including Murphy.
One can’t help wondering, how do you honor such a hero? It really defies the best of efforts!
Dr. Rajwant Singh, Founder and Chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education (SCORE) and Secretary of the Guru Gobind Singh Foundation, who spearheaded the Vaisakhi function, underscored, “Words cannot describe what this one individual has done, not just for the Sikh community, but for everyone during his 22 years of service in the Police Department, in New York and Wisconsin, and five years in the Marine Corps. If there was no Brian Murphy there (at the Oak Creek Gurudwara), things would have been much worse”. He put his life at stake so others could live!
President Obama has recognized and honored Murphy at the 2013 State of the Union and with an award for ‘Top Cop’.
At the Guru Gobind Singh Foundation, on a very warm Sunday for mid-April, the Sangat (gathering) listened in rapt attention to Murphy who began his address with ‘Guru Fateh’ (His Victory). “When people ask me, Why do you think you were able to do what you did? My very simple answer is, That is God’s will. He meant for me to be there”, he said.
Lieutenant Brian Murphy (fourth from left), the first officer to respond to the Oak Creek Gurudwara shooting, was honored on Vaisakhi at the Guru Gobind Singh Foundation (GGSF). At left is Dr. Rajwant Singh, Founder and Chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education and Secretary of GGSF
The heroic Brooklyn-born cop, who recently retired with a duty disability, admitted to being inspired by the Sikh tenet of ‘Chardi Kala’ (eternal optimism) which guided him through the recovery process. “This spirit of Chardi Kala, of seeing that there is something better and being more optimistic even when things are going against you, I struggle with this all the time and I’m not good at it”, he said. “I’m trying very hard to get better at it”.
Murphy dwelt on the day of the shooting. “It was my off day”, he recalled. “I was supposed to be home with my family”. When asked to cover for a Sergeant, he agreed “thinking nothing could happen; it’s just a Sunday. Obviously, I was wrong”, he said, in hindsight.
“When the call came in that morning, I knew I would be the first one to get there and I prepared myself as I went”, Murphy told the gathering. Upon reaching the Gurudwara, he saw two men lying motionless in the parking lot. He then ran into Page. “I could tell he did not belong to the Gurudwara”, he said. “I told him to stop. He pulled his gun and we both fired at the same time. His first shot hit me in the face”. The bullet is still lodged in his neck as a result of which he speaks with a rasp.
Murphy managed to get under a truck. “I thought of the people who meant the most to me in my life – my wife (Ann) and children (Simon, Jane and Erika)”, he said, and resolved, “I’m not going out on a parking lot”.
The last shot that hit him went into the back of his head. That bullet is still lodged in his body “as another souvenir because you should always have something to remember things”, he said, attempting to lighten the mood.
Murphy recounted how another officer came on the scene, got into a gunfight and subsequently, Page killed himself. “Why is it that people who know the end result will be the cause of their own death? Why must they hurt and harm so many people?”, he queried, adding, “I don’t know the answer to that”.
When an officer and paramedics came to get him, he was lying on the ground. “I knew that if someone had taken the time to shoot the two brothers in the parking lot, shoot me a bunch of times, I can’t imagine what’s inside the Gurudwara”, Murphy told the gathering. “When they came to get me, I waved them off and told them to go inside because I couldn’t imagine what he must have done in there”.
Brooklyn-born heroic cop Brian Murphy addressing the gathering at the Guru Gobind Singh Foundation
Still, he doesn’t see himself as a hero. “As far as being a hero, that word doesn’t describe me”, he said. “That word describes Mr. (Satwant Singh) Kaleka because when Page went into the temple, Mr. Kaleka was the one who came out, armed with nothing. I had my gun, I had a vest. I have 30 years of training in this. And he didn’t. He came out and confronted Page and was shot. When Page passed by him, Mr. Kaleka grabbed his leg, took out his Kirpan and tried to stab him in the foot to make him stop. He was shot again and killed. So I ask you, Who is more of a hero? I think Mr. Kaleka is”.
This hate crime has taken a tremendous toll on all, shaken an entire community and irrevocably altered precious lives forever!
Murphy’s wife, Ann, a history professor at Concordia University, told the gathering at the Guru Gobind Singh Foundation, “My family and I have had a difficult past year-and-a-half or so, as you can imagine. It’s been made much easier by the outpouring of love and support by members of your faith”, she said. “It has made a world of difference to us to know that we have you all behind us as we have gone on this journey of life. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your support. It’s much appreciated”.
Community Special by MYDOSTI.COM
