True Police Stories

"Courage is the ability to move; when all around you are frozen in fear
and no one would blame you if you did nothing at all." Capt. Click. Phx. PD

My Name is Stan Marrow

Taken from the book Think About it...  for your reading convenience

I was born on September 7th, 1946 in Phoenix, Arizona. My father died in an auto accident when I was five years old and I was raised outside the Church by a single parent, my mother. Usually, members are baptized into the Church when they are eight years old. I was baptized when I was ten by my grandfather, but I was not active in the Church through my teenage years. When I turned nineteen, I didn’t go on a mission for my Church as many young men do, I went to Viet Nam instead. I didn’t become active in the Church until I went to Viet Nam. I served four tours as a combat photographer. In my patriarchal blessing, it said I would go to war, but that I would not be called upon to take the enemies’ life. How interesting, I thought at the time, and yet how true it turned out to be. I ended up shooting the enemy with my camera.

After Viet Nam, I found my wife and the need to become more religious in my life. I realized the need to raise a family in a way that they not only didn’t grow up and become police problems, but in a way that they would have a good foundation to build on. I had to teach them about Christ and I had to set the example myself. The need to teach my family the gospel and to raise them in the gospel became self-evident. My wife and I were married in the Arizona Temple and we now have five children, three sons and two daughters, all of which were born under the covenant. My oldest son served on a mission to Korea. My middle son served on a mission to southern California and my youngest son served a mission to northern Ohio. Three of my children have married, all in the Arizona Temple, the house of the Lord, for time and all eternity.

Since being married, I have worked with the youth of the Church as Young Men’s President, Priest Advisor, Deacon’s Advisor and Scoutmaster. I have served as Elder’s Quorum President and Counselor to several Elder’s quorum presidents. I currently serve as the Second Counselor in our ward and I have served in this position to three different bishops, over the last nine and a half years. When I was first called to this position, one of my ward members asked our bishop, “What are you  doing, calling a cop to this position?” I never forgot that remark, and it hurt. I’ve been a cop for fifteen years and I could share many police stories with you, but the only one I feel to share with you is this one. It took place several years ago on a nice April day and just after “code 7” (lunch break). I was just going back in service when I heard a call come out over the air. The assigned officer was to respond to an office complex in reference to a guy who was making threats with a gun to kill everyone. When the officer arrived, he kicked out a description of a vehicle of the guy he had dealt with earlier. Another officer went back to the suspect’s house but he wasn’t there. The suspect’s wife said he hangs out at the restaurant at Stapley and Main. Mark went to the restaurant and radioed that the vehicle was there. By this time I was at University and Gilbert so I headed that way to back up Mark.

As I was pulling into the parking lot, Mark radioed that the guy was getting into his car and leaving. I told Mark I was behind him and he could make the stop any time he wanted. Mark turned on his overhead lights. The guy failed to yield so Mark hit his siren. The suspect then simply took off. Mark and I sped after him. The suspect sped northbound. Another officer had set up a one car roadblock but the guy drove around the police car. The time was about 1500 and there were a lot of kids getting out of school and walking the streets, so I made the decision to cut his escape route and stop the pursuit. I cut through a parking lot and stopped my patrol car in the middle of University blocking all lanes that weren’t already blocked by traffic. I looked in his direction and saw him turn the corner toward me.

          I heard the roar of that big Plymouth engine as it sped toward me.
                The sound of his engine and the sight of his vehicle coming straight at me
                                                                    ...was the last thing I heard and saw.

He rammed my car dead on the driver’s door. The impact flipped my police car upside down. His car came to rest on the top of mine. The next thing I remembered was Mark coming up and saying to me, “Don’t worry, the paramedics will be here quick.” That’s when I noticed I was bleeding from the side of my head. The paramedics pulled me from the car and cut my clothes off. I was in bad shape. They put me in a blow up air suit. This was to keep my blood pressure up and keep the blood in the body area so they could stabilize me as best as possible.

I was transported to Mesa Lutheran Hospital where the hospital staff said I had a concussion, broken ribs and massive internal injuries. One of the Mesa Fire Department Paramedics who was at the scene asked me if I needed anything. I knew he was LDS as well. I asked him to get his uncle and come and give me a priesthood blessing. He told me his co-worker was LDS and they could do it. They gave me a Priesthood blessing as I lay there in the ER. As they did, I could feel the pain subsiding and I could suddenly breathe much easier. The hospital staff then took me in for x-rays and to their surprise, they could not find a single broken bone or internal injury. I was still in a lot of pain and I still suffer from that incident, but I can testify that it was the power of that Priesthood blessing that healed me that day in the hospital. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored back to the earth in the fullness it was when Christ was here before. I am grateful for all the Lord has done for me and my family.

          I know that this is Christ’s true Church
                    and that if you will open your heart and listen,
                              that your heart can be softened to the truth as mine was softened.
                                        In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

                                                  Officer Stanley D. Marrow Badge #4526

If you are or were a police officer, soldier, fireman
or wife, mother, father of such or some other branch of emergency personnel
and would like to share an unusual testimony building experience with others,
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