Riverside officer remembered for putting others before himself - WSFA.com: News Weather and Sports for Montgomery, AL.

It has been one year since Riverside police officer Jeff Taylor responded to the needs of his neighbors in Joplin.

In fact, he was the first officer to raise his hand, moving his fellow officers to do the same.  His family said Taylor was a man who always put others before himself.

"You just miss your brother. You miss the other half," Taylor's younger sister, Staci Roberts, said.  "We don't understand why things happen to us. We just have to understand that life is going to continue."

And continuing to live life is the one thing that gets her through each day. It has been a hard couple of years for her. First her daughter died, then last year, her brother.

"I know he has my daughter," Roberts said. "I like to joke and say, 'It is not fair you get to see her, and I don't.' It helps me."

Despite the loss of her daughter, she said one of the hardest ideas to grasp is knowing now she only has her parents.

"There was four of us. Mom, Dad, Jeff and myself," she said.

Her father, Steve, said he got the news that Jeff had been hurt after a call came from Riverside Director of Public Safety Greg Mills.

Immediately, Steve and Jeff's mom, Rose, packed their bags and headed straight for Springfield where Jeff was being transported.

"The motorcade that escorted him in to St. John's was very inspiring. Disheartening, it was disheartening at the same time, but very inspiring to see there were officers from all over," Steve Taylor said.

The officers were making sure his son was getting what they call a safe passage to the hospital.

But what he wasn't prepared for was that first look of helplessness.

"The last time I ever remember seeing him that helpless was when he was a little baby," Taylor said.

Now, his son, the man that was always the first to volunteer to help others, is in a better place - heaven.

"I still have my brother, he is just not here," Roberts said.

And until they meet again, Staci and her dad will have photos to remember him by.

Jeff leaves behind two little boys, and there is the Jeff Taylor Run for SAFE - which honors Jeff - that takes place in October.

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