Original Article Phoenix officer dies after car crash By Katie McDevitt, Tribune December 1, 2005 A rookie Phoenix police officer from Chandler died Tuesday after his patrol car went off the road, rolled and struck a utility pole. Paul Salmon, 22, died about 8:40 p.m. at Saint Josephs Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix shortly after he was taken off life support, a Phoenix police spokesman said. The South Mountain Precinct officers cruiser was found overturned about 1 a.m. Monday in the 3100 block of West Baseline Road about five minutes after he notified dispatch he was responding to a domestic violence call, police reported. Salmon graduated from Hamilton High School in 2001 and was student body president his senior year. His colleagues, friends and teachers remember him as a man with a good sense of humor who could talk with anyone. "His school spirit was so high and he would resort to anything to get a laugh," said Lucee (Siter) Buchanan, his Hamilton honors English teacher who knew him since eighth grade. Hamilton principal Fed DePrez smiled while recalling Salmons jovial nature. "I always thought hed be on Letterman or something like that, never a police officer or teacher," DePrez said. "While other kids used humor to tear people down, Paul did the opposite." Police said Salmon suffered serious head injuries in the crash. Salmon was headed to the urgent call using lights and sirens, police said. The cause of the crash is under investigation. Salmons family and fiancee Shannon Grismore, a Jacobson Elementary School kindergarten teacher, were by his side when he died. Grismore and Salmon were planning to marry in March. Contact Katie McDevitt by email, or phone (480) -898-633