Friends of Syracuse police officer Michael Jensen are recalling the memories and final messages they exchanged with him after he died Sunday when a gunman opened fire in a Salina neighborhood.
“I just spoke to them literally Sunday, probably 7:45 at night right before everything happened. I actually followed up with them at 10:30. Sent him a text message and said, 'Hey, how are you doing,'" said his friend Ken Adams.
For Adams, he and his friends never could have imagined that Sunday night would be the last time they spoke with their friend.
Michael Jensen was 29-years-old and only on the police force for a little over two years when he was killed in the line of duty.
Gathering together at Franklyn’s Field in Rome earlier this week, they reminisced on the countess memories they made.
“All of our friends who spent a lot of time just drinking slush puppies, playing screen ball, bumper pool, ping-pong, riding bikes, going to get pizza. It’s very surreal being here, knowing that this is where a lot of friendships started not just with myself, but a lot of other people.” Tyler Nicolaus said.
“We come here, we spend 12 hours a day and then, you know, we go to a Little League practice and that was the routine every single day, Monday through Friday. That's what we did.” Jeff Cooke said
They say Jensen was truly one of a kind.
“He had that type of energy to just bring a smile to your face no matter what was happening. And I think that's how we're really going to remember Mike," Adams said.
“Be really appreciative of everything that he contributed to, not only myself, but for everyone here and Roman and the Syracuse community,” Nicolaus said.
There’s pain in saying goodbye to a friend they hoped to make more memories with, but they find comfort in knowing that Jensen will always be in their hearts.
“I’m going to miss him every single day," said Cooke.