Joshua Briese, 23, was a Gila River police officer who died June 1 after being shot while responding to a disturbance call in Santan, District 4, of the Gila River Indian Community.
Briese had been with the department for less than one year and was still on field training, according to a Gila River Police Department Facebook post.
“It was a big surprise,” said Briese’s step-grandmother, Helen Briese. “He was a sweet kid. I loved him.”
Helen Briese told The Arizona Republic she last spoke to Briese on Oct. 10, which she said was his birthday. “He was a wonderful person,” she said.
Briese always wanted to be a police officer, she said. In 2019, when he was 18, Briese told KULR News he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, former Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Officer David Briese.
David Briese was also killed in the line of duty in November 2006 in an automobile accident on Interstate 90, near King Avenue West in Billings, Montana, while responding to a backup call for an officer who was dealing with a combative impaired driver, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
After the death of his father, Briese told KULR he moved to Rapid City, South Dakota, with his older brother, mother, and stepfather. But things at home were tough, he said. At the age of 16, Briese said he emancipated and moved back to Billings.
Being on one’s own at a young age came with more responsibility — going to school and working to pay bills.
In an interview with KULR, Briese said he would wake up at 2:30 a.m. and work at the airport for four hours before he had to go to classes at Billings West High School. But he also made time for extracurricular activities and was a member of the school’s cross-country team, KULR reported.
Briese told KULR he hoped his dad would think he was doing a good job in life. Helen Briese said she thinks he did, given what Briese had been through.
“He had kind of a hard life, but he made it through,” Helen Briese said.
One other person died in the early-morning shooting Briese was involved in. Four others, including another officer, were injured.
Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis called the incident “tragic.”
“I know I speak for our entire community when I say that we grieve for our fallen and injured police officers and every Community member touched by such tragic violence,” Lewis said.
The Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office released a statement regarding Briese’s death:
“YCSO is heart broken and in disbelief upon receiving word this morning of the Line of Duty Death of Gila River Arizona Police Officer Josh Briese, Joshie as many of us called him,” the statement said. “All we can say is God Speed and rest easy. Knowing Dave & Josh are together again, both left this world serving their community and doing what they loved. RIP.”
Law enforcement fatalities: Gila River officer killed in shooting was son of Montana officer also killed on duty
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Gila River police officer killed on duty wanted to make his dad proud
