Julie Erfle works to help officers, a year after husband's murder
September 29, 2008




A little over a year after Phoenix Police Officer Nick Erfle was shot to death when he tried to stop an illegal immigrant, his widow is remembering him, speaking out and trying to help other officers and their families. • Listen to Audio: Julie Erfle

"His death has not ended our relationship, it hasn't ended our connection, and I still feel that connection very strong," said Julie Erfle of her high school sweetheart. "He's not here physically, but I still feel his presence and that does give me comfort."

Erfle, the mother of two, said, "I'd been with Nick for half of my entire life. To suddenly be apart physically just felt completely unbearable, completely unbearable."

Erfle was shot and killed near the Arizona Biltmore in central Phoenix on Sept. 18, 2007, when he tried to stop three people for jaywalking and obstructing traffic. An illegal immigrant, Erik Jovani Martinez, was charged with his murder.

"Erik Martinez is nothing to me," said Julie Erfle. "He meant nothing, he means nothing. Really, I like to concentrate on Nick because Nick's life meant so much."

Julie Erfle has been outspoken on the immigration issue, sometimes drawing criticism for her stance.

She defends her position, saying Martinez had been deported twice previously and fought violently when her husband tried to stop him for a minor violation.
"He had a record almost as long as his life," said Erfle. "And, there are people like that who are over here and, as a country, we have every right to make sure that those people do not stay in this country."

She added, "When it comes to crime, I believe very firmly that we need to secure our borders, and we need to know who is here at all times. But, to say Erik Martinez represents the entire immigration population, that doesn't even make sense."

Erfle emphasized she wants comprehensive immigration reform, not amnesty.
"There is a broken system. We have laws in this country and what is so wonderful about this country is that we have laws that are able to be changed overtime if the need arises. Well, we have a need. Obviously we wouldn't have a problem in this country if the laws in existence were working."

After her husband's death, Julie Erfle began organizing to help other officers.

"To end up at a site to watch your partner be killed, to show up on scene and see your friend and your colleague with gunshot wounds. That takes an incredible toll, and I think we forget about that," she said.

She's in the process of creating a non-profit organization; she isn't ready to release the name yet.

"When officers are in crisis, there isn't a lot there for them," she said. "For instance, after a police shooting -- and just in what they deal with every single day -- there isn't a lot there to help through through it. So one of the goals of this non-profit would be to set up a program that would be beneficial and helpful to officers."

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