NOREEN: Officer did what he had to; a reporter says thanks

Mel Ryan is retiring and I couldn't let it pass.

Mel is a Colorado Springs cop, one of a handful who have earned two medals for valor.

Twice, he confronted armed robbers on our streets and twice, he shot guys who had it coming.

The first time was on Jan. 25, 1985. I remember that day as well as I remember the births of my children.

I was walking back to my car after covering an inconsequential county government meeting downtown. A few paces in front me, a guy strode along, carrying a plastic bag.

He had just passed the rear of my car when a police car stopped abruptly. The police cruiser's passenger door came open. A policeman ran from behind the car. The guy with the bag took a couple of steps to the right and the cop assumed the firing position, with both hands on his gun.

"Get down on the ground!" he yelled at the guy with the bag. I was standing within 20 feet of the guy; all three of us were lined up in a row. I was looking over the guy's shoulder, looking right down Mel Ryan's gun barrel.

"You back there," Mel yelled at me, "get down!"

Seconds after my chest hit the pavement, the shooting started. I heard a "pop," then "bang, bang," as Mel shot Richard White twice in the torso.

As I looked from beneath the car, White hit the street. His gun hit the pavement, too. It was the same gun he had used to rob Zerbe Jewelers a few minutes before. That plastic bag was full of Rolex watches and jewelry.

I scrambled to my feet, pulling my notebook out. Cops were running up. Mel stood with his gun and he said, "Sweet Jesus, what have I done?"

The humanity of that remark resonates 24 years later. No Hollywood bravado, just a guy who knew he had to pull the trigger and wished it could have turned out differently.

He went through the normal drill: an investigation, administrative leave, mandatory counseling, a grand jury hearing at which I testified.

I remember testifying: "He told the guy to give it up and he told me to get down. I don't know what else he's supposed to do."

Twenty four years later at his kitchen table, Mel said, "I wasn't happy about what happened."

He knew he had no choice, but Mel recalled, "I wasn't able to sleep that night, and plus, you're worried about what will appear in the paper or on the news."

A few years after his first shooting, Mel stood in the street as a truck driven by a fleeing bank robber sped toward him. He fired through the windshield and hit the driver twice, stopping him. Mel's happy that neither of the guys he shot died.

Did Mel save my life that day in 1985?

Let's put it this way: If he had not done his job so well, there's no telling what would have happened.

Mel and I are both 56. Nowadays, Mel has a 40-acre piece of the rock south of Colorado Springs. The house needs some work, and that'll be one of his main jobs as retirement begins. He also wants to see Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore.

There are other officers out there who are just as deserving of being written about, and citizens with stories like mine. But I'm linked with Mel Ryan. He's retiring, and I couldn't let it pass.

With a tip of the brim to George Strait, this is where the cowboy rides away.

But before you do, Mel, thanks so much. Thanks from me, my family and the entire city.

Hope you have many happy years.

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Contact Noreen at 636-0363 or noreen@gazette.com.