Denver police honor 3 citizens who helped others

Font ResizeLocal NewsBy Sadie Gurman
The Denver Postdenverpost.comPosted: 12/13/2012 05:38:29 PM MSTDecember 14, 2012 6:44 AM GMTUpdated: 12/13/2012 11:44:44 PM MST

Denver police Detective Alan Breneman wouldn't necessarily advise others to do what Patrick Morris did the night gunshots sounded outside his southwest Denver home. But he is glad Morris did it, nevertheless.

As it had too many times before, the gunfire on South Umatilla Street rustled Morris awake. But rather than hit the floor in fear, Morris got dressed and ventured outside, determined to find its source.

Soon enough, he did. As Morris started driving, he spotted a man hanging out of the passenger-side window of a maroon Mitsubishi, waving a handgun. So he did what any other concerned — and admittedly a little insane — citizen would do: He followed the car.

His calls to 911 and persistence Dec. 11, 2011, helped officers corral their suspect, Fernando Marquez. They also earned Morris a commendation Thursday from the Police Department, which described his efforts as "a valiant act in the face of danger."

Also honored were 12-year-old Giana Rispoli, daughter of Officer Michael Rispoli, who helped save a drowning child, and Gunnar Greenemeier, who installed windows on a woman's vehicle after it was riddled with bullets in a gang-related shooting.

Morris' case landed on Breneman's desk. Had Morris not cornered the gunman, the detective said, the crime might have gone unsolved. Such gang-related shootings often happen overnight, and no one sees or hears a thing.

"It's really frustrating," Breneman said. But this time, he had "something workable."

"He confessed to shooting the gun randomly, that he wasn't targeting a specific house," Breneman said. Marquez, 22, described by Breneman as an associate of a Denver gang, pleaded guilty to illegal discharge of a firearm and is in prison for three years.

Morris, a 43-year-old plumber, later learned that gunshots pierced the home of an elderly couple.

"It goes on around here all the time, at 3:30 a.m. If I don't try to find out who it is, no one else will," said Morris, who is something of a neighborhood vigilante. He said he has been trying to help police capture criminals for 20 years, and it's not the first time he has been successful. "I don't want to see these people do it. I want it to come to an end."

Sadie Gurman: 303-954-1661, sgurman

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