Friends, community remember fallen Officer Cabrera

A slain Salt River Police Department officer seemed to find his life's calling in police work, putting his engaging personality to good use through helping others, whether they were crime victims or stressed-out fellow officers in need of a good laugh.

But Jair Cabrera's choice of professions, switching from his previous job as a FedEx courier to law enforcement, also ended up costing him his life, when he was shot and killed during an early-morning traffic stop on May24.

Cabrera, 37, was remembered Friday by thousands of mourners who honored his devotion to his work and his enthusiasm for DUI enforcement, motivated by a collision about a decade ago that left a friend dead and Cabrera hospitalized.

A series of speakers at Christ's Church of the Valley in Peoria described how Cabrera's sense of humor was unforgettable — from his goofy faces to hilarious impressions of movie stars and spot-on imitations of police academy instructors.

"He brought meaning and purpose to those who were lost," said Edrei Cabrera, his younger brother. "He inspired the uninspired."

Jair Cabrera's Christian beliefs inspired him to use his job to help others, his brother said.

"What Jair's badge represented was a reflection of his heart," Edrei said.

Alfonso Cabrera, Jair and Edrei's father, said Jair's first name means "God enlightens" in Hebrew.

"He was a good police officer, but he added a little bit to it. He was merciful," Alfonso said.

He said his son and a friend drove to Los Angeles about 10 years ago to apply for a job as Los Angeles police officers. Alfonso said that their car was hit by a woman who ran a red light and that his son's friend was killed, while his son was hospitalized for a few days.

"He took it personally," Alfonso said. "He said, 'This happens too much. I have to do something about it.'"

Shot during a patrol stop

Jair Cabrera was working on a DUI enforcement task force a couple of days before Memorial Day when an assailant shot him to death with an AR-15 rifle through the windshield of his patrol car.

He had been making a patrol stop that wound its way to the parking lot of a convenience store at Pima and Chaparral roads, near the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community's border with Scottsdale.

Alfonso Cabrera said he hopes to work in the future for the use of bulletproof windshields in police cars.

The FBI arrested Elijah Loren Arthur and accused him in a federal complaint of first-degree murder.

A police intelligence document said all three men inside the car were either gang members or associates. It also warned police that a Native American prison gang might be encouraging gang members to target officers and that Cabrera may have been baited into the fatal traffic stop.

Diane Enos, the Native American community's president, did not mention gangs specifically during remarks at Cabrera's memorial service, but she alluded to his violent death.

"My nation will work harder as a people to try to answer what happened to this beautiful man," Enos said. "Today, we have gratitude for his life and example and the many gifts he gave."

When asked about gangs after Cabrera's burial, Enos said that the Salt River community struggles with crime like any Valley city but that the community must respond to his death "with strength and fortitude."

"This is not us, this is not our way," Enos said.

Avondale police Officer James Long said that Cabrera emerged almost immediately as the class clown of his police academy class but that Cabrera also was dedicated to becoming an officer, studying with Long on weekends and running on trails together as the recruits worked to boost their conditioning.

Cabrera was always an athlete, excelling at baseball as a boy growing up in El Segundo, Calif., and later enjoying motorcycles and snowboarding, according to other speakers at the memorial.

"Jair had the ability to light up a room no matter the situation," Long said. "A great giant has fallen, but he will never be forgotten."

Fallen East Valley police officers