Members of the Alexandria Police Department are mourning the death of 28-year-old Officer Luis Torres, who died from massive injuries suffered in an off-duty motorcycle accident on Monday.
Torres, a five-year veteran of the department, was riding his motorcycle with friends on Route 17 in Faquier County at around 2:15 p.m. when the accident occurred. He was flown to Inova Fairfax Hospital where he died at 4:30 p.m. The Faquier County Sheriff’s Department is still investigating the accident.
“Officer Luis Torres was a part of our family; in fact he was an important part of two families who will miss him very much,” said Alexandria police chief Charles Samarra.
”He was a decorated officer who enjoyed life and gave so much of himself to others. His energetic and enthusiastic attitude was evident in whatever assignment he was given. I am extremely proud of his accomplishments and the work he performed for the citizens of Alexandria.”
TORRES JOINED the department on July 2, 1998, and graduated later that year with the 99th session of the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Academy. He was a field officer, assigned to the evening shift.
In 2002, Torres was recognized for his bravery with a silver medal at the annual Valor Award ceremony for his courageous pursuit of two armed robbery suspects. That incident involved a chase on I-395 with the suspects firing their guns at Torres and another officer during the pursuit. Both suspects were arrested and none of the officers involved was hurt.
”Officer Torres’s untimely death is a tremendous loss for the Alexandria Police Department, the city and the entire law enforcement community,” Samarra said.
Torres is survived by his father and a brother in Alexandria, his mother in Puerto Rico and his Alexandria Police Department family. Viewing will be Sunday, July 27, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 5-8 p.m., at Everly-Wheatley Funeral Home, 1500 Braddock Road, Alexandria. Funeral services will be held Monday, July 28, at 11:30 a.m. at the funeral home. Burial will follow at Mount Comfort Cemetery.