Zane Coolidge: Phoenix officer to be remembered at memorial service

PHOENIX – A Phoenix Police officer who died after being shot in the line of duty will be remembered at a memorial service on Wednesday, Sept. 18.

Officers Zane Coolidge and Matthew Haney were shot on Sept. 3 while responding to reports of a man trying to break into a car near 15th Street and McDowell Road.

Haney survived the shooting. Coolidge died at the hospital on Sept. 6.

Coolidge, a five-year veteran of the Phoenix Police Department, is survived by his wife and the couple’s 5-month-old daughter.

“We remember Zane as an amazing husband, father, son, brother, friend, and beloved member of the Phoenix Police Department,” the department said.

The suspect in the shooting, 41-year-old Saul Bal, was arrested. He has since been indicted on several charges, including first-degree murder.

Procession, memorial service to honor Officer Coolidge

The memorial service is being held at Dream City Church in north Phoenix. It is closed to the public, but people are encouraged to show their support by lining the sidewalks along the procession route.

The route will travel from 60th Street and Bell Road to Cave Creek Road and Sweetwater Avenue.

The service is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Sept. 18.

‘An empty seat in the briefing room’

“When we have a horrible heart-wrenching end-of-watch call, it’s not just the day that we get the news. It’s not just the funeral. It’s not just a few items left at a memorial. It’s every single day,” said AJ Marsden, Vice President of the Phoenix Block Watch Advisory Board.

The place Officer Coolidge came to work at every day, the Mountain View precinct, is surrounded by blue ribbons.

“The family is hurting, the department is hurting and then we as a community hurt also,” Marsden said. “There’s going to be an empty seat in the briefing room. There’s going to be a little bit less laughter in the hallways, and specifically, his voice and his outgoing personality.”

‘They will all keep Officer Coolidge’s memory alive’

“They are committed to that. It’s not just something that they say, but they will all keep Officer Coolidge’s memory alive through that little girl, and she’ll know her dad through this group of men and women. They are going to help raise that daughter, and they’re committed to it,” said Anne Ender, President and Founder of Operation: Blue Ribbon.