We spent much of the day yesterday tracking down people who knew Jacai Colson, the Upper Chichester native who was gunned down during an ambush attack on police headquarters in Prince Georges County, Md.
Not one person had a bad thing to say about Colson, who grew up in Boothwyn and was a star athlete and student at Chichester High. Colson was the quarterback on the Chichester football team. One of the wonders of the Internet allowed us to go back, find some of the stories and photos we ran of his exploits as the Eagles' QB, and post them on our site.
Everybody praised Colson.
Then around 5 p.m. this tragedy took still one more terribly sad twist.
Police officials in Maryland announced that Colson very likely did not die as a result of a bullet fired by a gunman with a death wish. Instead, police theorized, the undercover narcotics officer likely was felled by "friendly fire" as his fellow officers returned fire.
Colson was in street clothes and was not wearing a bulletproof vest.
It does not lessen what he did, nor make him any less heroic.
Colson took action when he saw the attack and tried to intervene, to save his fellow officers. It likely cost him his life.
Colson was in street clothes, not wearing body armor, when he arrived at the station and immediately leaped out of an unmarked car to confront the attackers.
What kind of guy was Jacai Colson? The folks down in Chi who knew him best showered him with praise yesterday.
But former Chi High football coach Joe LaRose tells one especially compelling story that pretty much tells you everything you need to know about Jacai Colson.
In these parts, the name of Billy "White Shoes" Johnson is revered. The Chichester great went on to star at Widener and then enjoyed a long, sterling career in the NFL.
But one of his records - for most touchdowns scored in a game - was in jeopardy of falling as Colson's Eagles faced Academy Park back in 2004.
With the Eagles at the Knights' 2-yard line and Colson just 1 TD away from tying Johnson's record of 6, the Eagles' QB instead calmly handed the ball off to a teammate.
That's the kind of person Jacai Colson was.
You can read about other memories of Colson from his friends and colleagues in Chichester here.
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