BUT YOU RARELY FIND A COP DEAD IN THEIR BED SO A MURDER COVERUP COMMENCES LIKE SOME FOLKS FIND THEIR INNOCENT TEENAGE DAUGHTERS

 URL: http://tbo.com/news/crime/police-families-try-to-stay-strong-as-manhunt-goes-on-50417

Police families try to stay strong as manhunt goes on

By Krista Klaus

In Tampa police work, the four-day manhunt for the suspect in two officers' deaths is unprecedented.
While police and deputies work long hours on the front lines, however, families are waiting by the front door.
"You don't start breathing again until you hear their key in the door," said Rita Peters, whose husband Sean serves on Hillsborough County's SWAT team and is actively working to catch accused gunman Dontae Morris.
Peters said she can't sleep when Sean is away, but watching him leave in the morning is the most difficult.
"Especially when he says goodbye to the kids and hearing them say, 'I love you, Dad,' and hoping that that's not the last time that they will have to say that," Peters said, biting back tears.
Retired Sgt. Julie Massucci used to work the streets for the Tampa Police Department. Now she worries for her husband Chuck, a Tampa homicide detective, as he hunts Morris. She said she watches news around the clock, and the "what-if's" keep her awake.
"What if he is there when the guy's apprehended? What if he gets involved in some shooting?" Massucci said.
Those questions plagued Susan Delage for years, as her husband, Sgt. Mark Delage, worked every rotation from patrol to critical incident response team.

"You never know you kiss them goodbye, and you hope they're coming home and you don't know," Delage said.
Wives of officers out working the streets said they contact one another often, by e-mail, cell phone and social networking sites.
Peters said keeping in touch helps calm the nerves.
"We are each other's rocks."