Joe Romano's son

Joe Romano, Milwaukee resident, age 59

"My son, Bobby, was a cop in Milwaukee. He was only 27 when he was shot and killed on duty in November 2007. He was trying to break up a fight between two big groups of kids on the corner of 23rd street and Cherry street. All of a sudden, one of the kids comes out shooting with one of those TEC-9 semi-automatics on a shoulder strap. Did you know those things are made so they don't hold a fingerprint? That's criminal. Anyway, my son leaped to shove a bunch of the other kids out of the way and was shot three times in the chest and stomach. He died right there in the street. Bled to death. The thought of it still chokes me up."