A Philadelphia police officer used his artistic talent to help the family of a fallen Fond du Lac officer.
Officer Craig Birkholz was killed in the line of duty in March of 2011.
Philadelphia Officer Jonny Castro works with the graphic arts unit. He creates sketches of suspects and does facial reconstructions of victims. In his free time Castro also creates portraits of fallen officers.
Castro says Birkholz’s story stuck out to him. He says Birkholz got to the scene and just immediately grabbed his rifle and ran towards the gunfire. He says you don’t hear that often and when you do hear it, it’s pretty selfless. Castro says Birkholz was one that he wanted to try to capture as best he could.
Castro sent the portrait to Birkholz’s mom. He says the portraits are a way to keep each officer’s story and memory alive. He completed more than 100 in 2018.
