Ashley McIntire: 'Justin wasn’t ready to die'

At a media briefing Friday, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. read a statement from Ashley McIntire, the wife of slain Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire.

“Jan. 2, 2023, is a day I will never forget. It started out as just another typical day, but little did we know two hours after Justin’s shift started, our lives would be changed forever.

“Being a police wife, I know the dangers of the job. I knew there was always a chance he may never come back home. Some say I chose to marry this life, but, actually, I chose to marry him, not for his job but for the man he was. I chose him because he was so selfless and caring. He put not only me first, but everyone else before him. But, what I didn’t know is that he actually wouldn’t come back home at the end of his shift that night.

“I will never forget watching the officers walk up my sidewalk with tears running down their faces and that feeling of disbelief that overcame me. As my heart broke into a million pieces, I begged them to tell me it wasn’t true because the last thing I wanted to do was walk back through that front door and tell our children that their dad wasn’t ever coming home. Something I pray no other parent will ever have to do.

“Justin wasn’t ready to die. We had plans for tomorrow, next week, next month and for the next 50-plus years, but those plans were taken from us. They were taken from us because of a coward.

“Justin died doing what he loved, and I know if he could do it over again, he would, just to protect us and his town because that is how selfless of a man he was. He will always be our hero.

“Reminding the few of the ill they speak, not only Justin, but all of these officers every single day are all that stand between these monsters and the weak. The hate they receive for just doing their job and upholding the law is heartbreaking, yet they don’t think twice and still answer every single call they receive. So, the next time you feel the need to speak ill of law enforcement, remember you will need them someday, and yet they will still show up and risk their lives and take the chance of losing what they love that’s standing behind them because they are heroes.”