ST. LOUIS — Flowers and stuffed animals line 42-year-old Antonio Valentine's picture on the St. Louis County Police Patrol car at the Central Precinct.
Detective Valentine was killed in the line of duty Wednesday.
Valentine left behind four children, ages 10 to 22 years old. Valentine was an Army veteran, serving active duty from July 1999 to February 2000. He was a sergeant in the Army National Guard and later served in the Air Force Reserve. He was deployed to Iraq and Kyrgyzstan.
Valentine died of injuries following a head-on crash involving a stolen car. The crash also resulted in the death of the other driver, 33-year-old Alfred Mayes.
"On behalf of our entire Department, I wish to express our sorrow and sympathy over the tragic death of Detective Antonio Valentine," St. Louis County Acting Police Chief Kenneth Gregory said in an emailed statement. "Detective Valentine dedicated his life to serving the public through both his law enforcement and military careers. He was devoted to his family and friends. We are greatly honored to have worked with him and have him as part of our family.”
Councilman Tim Fitch remembers hiring him when he was the county's deputy Police Chief.
“He had no issues in the police department he did a great job and was always right there serving the community, talked often about his family,” Fitch said.
Drug Unit Detectives tried to stop Mayes who was driving a black Volkswagen Jetta on Chambers Road. Police say Mayes sped away, crossed over into oncoming traffic and hit Valentine's unmarked police SUV head-on.
“We all know that it's a risk in the job. You obviously, you don't ever want to see it happen, but it always has and always will in the future very unfortunate, but that's just the fact the nature of the job. We accept that,” Fitch said.
Valentine died at the hospital. An officer in Valentine's passenger seat survived.
Backstoppers Chief Ron Batelle leads efforts to assist Valentine's family.
“He fought in Guns 'n Hoses several years ago I just learned and everything. He was highly spoken of and he was a good man,” Battelle said.
Valentine also coached a flag football team in addition to serving 14 years with the St. Louis County Police Department.
“A line of duty death is hard for everybody involved. From a police department standpoint you just concentrate on what your mission is, persevere,” Battelle said.