CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — Monday marked exactly 20 years since one of the darkest days in the history of the Chesterfield County Police Department.
In the early morning hours of May 4, 2006, Officer Joe Diman and his new partner, Gary Buro, responded to a domestic disturbance at a home on Totty Street in Ettrick.
Just moments after arriving and entering the house, the 34-year-old Buro was shot and killed by Willie Anderson, a local corrections worker.
Despite being shot five times himself during an ensuing gun battle, Diman was able to subdue Anderson, something that almost certainly saved the lives of the gunman’s girlfriend and her son, who were inside the home.
But Diman wouldn’t learn that Buro had died until he was being loaded onto a Med-Flight helicopter, which had to land at the nearby Virginia State University football stadium.
“The flight medic did a phenomenal job, but they try to keep the patient concerned about them,” said Diman. “And I said, ‘I have to know, is Gary okay? Because I feel like he should be getting better treatment than I am.’ And he gave me this spiel that, ‘Oh, let's focus on you,’ you know, but I insisted. And he says, 'well, Officer Buro passed away…' and I can just remember kind of looking out the window of the helicopter and seeing the 30-yard line of the football field. And it was at that moment the failure had set in.”
Buro had not been with CCPD long at the time of his death, but he had a decorated record of service in the U.S. Marine Corps and in the NYPD, where he had worked during 9/11.
“He was off duty that day, and as his brother recounted it to me, he heard of what was happening, so he jumped in his Jeep, grabbed his stuff, and drove down to the bridge and actually walked over the bridge, because all the bridges were closed, and went to work at Ground Zero,” said Diman. “His dedication to service was obvious throughout his life, and then, following the tragic death of his wife, he had relocated to Chesterfield for a fresh start, and that's how our paths crossed.”
Several months after the shooting, Diman, then 26, received the highest award in law enforcement: the Medal of Valor. And though he received universal praise for showing tremendous courage under fire, on the inside, he was suffering.
“When something happens to your partner, it's like it happens to you,” said Diman. “And you know, dealing with that survivor's guilt for the past 20 years has been one of the hardest things of my life, if not the hardest.”
He would ultimately return to the force, but said he constantly struggled with PTSD, and for a long period of time he did not receive the support he needed from the department’s leadership. But he said that all changed a few years ago.
“God answered a prayer and sent Col. Jeffrey Katz to come be our chief of police,” said Diman. “And even though I had been out of commission and was in the process of medical retirement, he welcomed me back with open arms and checked on me on the anniversary date and actually encouraged me to go to a place called Boulder Crest, or Warrior PATHH, through the Gary Sinise Foundation, to get help. And you know, 17 years after, I finally got that help started, to be able to deal with some of these demons that I've been carrying around for many, many years.”
The bulletproof vest that saved Joe Diman’s life is now on display inside the Chesterfield Police Academy. A fitting location, because the retired officer now regularly talks to new recruits, so that they may be better prepared to survive or cope with a critical incident.
And while it can be hard to reopen old wounds, telling his story helps Diman keep the memory of his fallen partner alive, reminding everyone of the sacrifice he made.
“Love hath no greater than to lay down one’s life for his neighbor,” said Diman. “That’s what Officer Gary Buro did.”
Diman joined Catie Beck on the latest episode of ‘Untold – A WTVR Podcast.’ That captivating interview is available on this page, and also the CBS 6 YouTube channel, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
Diman also recently sat down with CBS 6 Crime Insider Jon Burkett, who was the only local reporter to travel to New Jersey to cover Gary Buro’s funeral. Watch for that story to come out later this month.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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