RED LION, Pa. (AP) — Three Pennsylvania detectives shot to death last week while attempting to arrest a stalking suspect were remembered at their funeral Thursday as exemplary officers and devoted family men.
The service for Northern York County Regional Police detectives Cody Michael Becker, Mark Edward Baker and Isaiah Emenheiser was held more than a week after they were ambushed by a man who had been inside the home of a woman he was accused of stalking.
“They were gentle, they were kind,” Northern Regional Chief David L. Lash recalled in a eulogy. “They confronted some of the most evil human behaviors imaginable. And not only did they face those challenges, they did so while holding fast to faith, compassion and uncompromising honor.”
Hundreds of police officers were on hand to mourn them at Living Word Community Church in Red Lion in southeastern Pennsylvania after a motorcade brought their flag-draped caskets from a funeral home.
Lash called the three “the best of us. Their sacrifice is a solemn reminder of the cost of service but also the courage required to stand in the face of darkness.”
Autopsy results released this week indicated that all three officers died of multiple gunshot wounds.
A prosecutor said the stalking suspect, 24-year-old Matthew James Ruth, fired on the officers as they opened the door to the woman’s home. Two other officers were seriously wounded. York County District Attorney Tim Barker said he believes Ruth, who died in an exchange of gunfire, had planned to ambush the woman he was accused of stalking.
Becker, 39, a resident of Spring Grove, had been a star multisport athlete in high school. Baker, 53, who lived in Dover, was a computer forensics specialist; Emenheiser, 43, of York, had dreams of opening a gym.
Becker served as sergeant of detectives and had been on the Northern Regional force for 16 years. His obituary recounted how in 2010 he climbed to the second story of a burning building to catch children escaping through a window.
Baker, a U.S. Army veteran, was known for his dedication to scouting and served three years with the Philadelphia Police Department before joining Northern Regional. Emenheiser's interests included fitness, home renovations and mentoring youth in sports.
Their tragic deaths are a somber reminder of the risks police officers face daily and the impact of their sacrifice on families and communities.
