Wednesday, September 3, 2014 a call came in that rocked the Greater Rochester community.

"Warsaw and Hudson, shots fired. Suspect down, officer down."

It was the night Rochester Police Officer Daryl Pierson was shot by a gunman during a foot chase.

"At the time, I was told he had been shot and did not know the extent of the injuries,” said former Rochester Police Chief Michael Ciminelli.

It wasn't until he got to the hospital that Ciminelli realized how serious the injury was.

"I was there when he was pronounced, and then I had to go back and talk with the family,” he said.

Eventually, Ciminelli prepared a handwritten statement that he read from Rochester General Hospital.

"It is with a sad and heavy heart that I come before you to announce that tonight, we lost one of our own,” Ciminelli read.

Five years later, the former police chief still pays his respects with the memory of that night still fresh in his mind.

"Coming back here every time, it brings me back to what happened and the emotions are there,” Ciminelli said. "It keeps me grounded and helps remind me of what's important."

What was important to Daryl Pierson was family and friends. In East Rochester, where he grew up and called home, there are still signs of support.  Blue lights still light the darkness in honor of the fallen officer.

"We were really embraced by just everybody,” said Amy Pierson-Denny, who was married to the officer at the time of his death and has since remarried.

She says support from the community and loved ones helped with the healing process.

"Since then, we've been able to move forward a little bit more, it's not as painful to talk about,” she continued, flipping through pictures of Daryl's accolades as a police officer and veteran of the National Guard.

"We have an area where we have all of his awards hanging, the Purple Heart and those things but then we just have pictures throughout the house,” she added.

Daryl Pierson was the 15th Rochester Police Officer to die in the line of duty.

"He didn't have to get out of that car in the first place. He spotted someone that was a danger to the community,” said Ciminelli. “Information that this person had a gun, was a threat. [Pierson] and his partner, instead of driving by, chose to get out and protect this city."

A piece of history lives on in a box that contains the plates from the vehicle that transported Pierson to the hospital and tributes of his heroic life.

Pierson left behind two young children.

"I've always said he was a hero before he became a fallen officer because he was just the ideal father,” said Pierson-Denny. "I was very proud of him all throughout his career, but he was definitely family first."

Rochester Police Officer Daryl Pierson; end of watch: September 3, 2014