Fallen officer’s letter: ‘I hope I died with bravery’

TOLEDO — A Toledo police officer gunned down in a store parking lot last weekend left behind a letter for his family in case he was killed on the job.

Officer Anthony Dia’s cousin read from the letter during a memorial service on Tuesday.

In it, he wrote, “I hope I died with bravery.”

Dia was shot and killed by an intoxicated man early Saturday.

Police say the 57-year-old man fled into a wooded area and was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Toledo’s mayor says Dia was loyal throughout his life and during his final moments.