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Chief Statement at Sentencing

Your Honor, my name is Chief Dale Tamsen and I make this statement on behalf of the entire Taylor Police Department. 16 months ago, the Taylor Police Department and the community of Taylor suffered the crushing loss of Cpl. Matthew Edwards and the assault upon our Cpl. Gregory Piche. Matt was the first officer our Department had ever lost in the line of duty. When Tyress Mathews murdered Cpl. Edwards and tried to murder Cpl. Piche, he also took a shot at every officer in our department. As a Department, we stand together and we fall together. Tyress Mathews had an extensive criminal record. He had previously been charged with several robberies and attempted murder. A prison psychologist once described him as a "lethal and violent individual" . The only good thing to have come from this tragedy is that Tyress Mathews will not be able to hurt our society again. I'm only saddened that Matt Edwards and Greg Piche had to pay the price for that. A sad irony in this case is that the gun he used to kill our officer was a Detroit Police Department-issued pistol. It wasn't Matt's as the defense tried to imply. It was a DPD officer's and had been stolen from a health club locker in Southfield. For our police department, the loss of Matt has hurt like nothing else and it has changed each of us in a profound way. He was more than a fellow officer; he had many close and true friends on this police force and they have truly suffered. As a Department we have learned that heroes walk among us. We've learned that when tragedy strikes, our officers step up and answer the call. Unfortunately, we have also learned that there are persons who walk this earth devoid of a conscience.

Your Honor, you have seen our officers cry in this courtroom and comfort one another. That does not prove they are weak. It proves they have hearts. I want to be clear. Tyress Mathews has not won and he has not beaten us. Our Department is more solid, more committed and more united than ever before. That was Matt's gift to us. Our officers know every day they come to work there is a real possibility they may not go home and they accept that. That they do this job despite those risks is the very definition of bravery. The killing of a police officer shakes a society ... shakes a community ... to its very core because of what it represents. Police officers are the line between good and bad. If someone can think so little of executing an officer, then what do they think of victimizing someone without a gun and a badge? There needs to be an understanding that this will not be tolerated. In closing, I thank you Judge Boykin for your professionalism and attentiveness during this trial. And, we thank APA Robert Stevens for his excellent work on this case. Finally, we thank our brothers and sisters in Wayne County Sheriff's Department for their support during these proceedings. There will never truly be closure for us, Matt's parents or his loving wife and children. Your Honor, I can see no other punishment that would be just except for a life sentence without parole for this killer. The penalty you impose here today will mark the end of a chapter for the Taylor Police Department ... the end of a painful journey ... and finally justice for Cpl. Matthew Edwards.

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