By Christine Byers
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Members of the St. Louis Fire Department salute as fellow firefighter Leonard Riggins’ flag-draped coffin is carried into his funeral service Thursday. |
ST. LOUIS — Had things turned out differently the night of Nov. 5 — had St. Louis firefighter Leonard Riggins been given the chance, friends said, he would have turned his selfless attention toward the man who killed him.
“He would have been up at the jail talking to him, or up at the hospital consoling the family,” said firefighter Raynard Jones.
But Riggins didn’t get that chance.
On his way home from work that night, Riggins thought he was stopping to help an accident victim. The driver was 19-year-old Christopher L. Brandon of St. Louis, who had just carjacked a young couple at gunpoint and wrecked their car. As Riggins approached, Brandon fatally shot him. St. Louis County police later shot and killed Brandon.
Even though the task proved to be the 52-year-old’s last good deed, the hundreds of friends, co-workers and family members who gathered Thursday at Harris-Stowe State University to say their final goodbyes saw it as an eternal lesson in humility.
“Every loss leaves behind a message,” Mayor Francis Slay told the crowd. “A good neighbor always stops in the dark to help, and I urge all of you to do the same.”
Former St. Louis Fire Chief Sherman George said Riggins epitomized the good Samaritan.
“He lost his life senselessly in an effort to assist his fellow man,” George said. “It was his concern and commitment to duty that drew him to his fate.”
Riggins worked as a park supervisor for 17 years before realizing his dream of becoming a firefighter.
“It made sense,” said Capt. Michael Richardson, who befriended Riggins shortly after Riggins graduated from the Fire Academy 15 years ago. “Leonard was a natural servant, and that’s what the Fire Department does.”
Most recently, Riggins worked at the Fire Department’s headquarters, where he became known as the department’s godfather.
“If you needed anything — uniforms, supplies, anything — he would tell people, ‘You got to go through the godfather,’” said Jones. “He was the Fire Department’s godfather and he’s got a lot of godchildren that are hurting without their godfather.”
Hundreds of firefighters from throughout the region volunteered to staff the city’s 30 fire stations and 15 ambulance crews so the city’s 700 firefighters could attend Thursday’s services. The volunteers brought firetrucks and equipment so the city’s pumpers and more than 30 aerial ladder trucks could line the procession route to St. Peter’s Cemetery.
When Riggins stood among those fellow firefighters — at events like parades, funerals and Fair St. Louis — it was more than his perfectly pressed uniform that made him stand out and drew people to him if they needed help, said St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson.
“He had an aura, a presence that made people feel comfortable and at ease,” he said. “It was a rare gift.”
And he knew how to turn anyone’s day around, Jenkerson said.
“Even if he just saw someone looking down, he would always say, ‘You woke up today, it’s a blessed day because you made it here,’” he said.
Jenkerson said he could always rely on Riggins for advice — even if it was tough to hear.
“He knew the pulse of headquarters,” Jenkerson said.
He also was free with fatherly advice. But Thursday, his son Antwan Banks, 35, was the one giving advice to mourners and quoting his father.
“Life deals you interruptions, and right now this is an interruption,” he said. “It depends on how long you want it to last.”
Just weeks ago, Riggins, imparted some of his last advice to his younger son, Leonard Jr., 19. Riggins and his wife, Donita, took Leonard Jr. on a cruise, said Richardson, who spoke for the family.
“He was teaching his son how to treat his wife when he gets one and how to be a man,” Richardson said.
Riggins had planned to write a book titled, “How to Keep Your Wife Out of Another Man’s Arms,” said friend and co-worker Steve Reynolds.
And, had things turned out differently, Riggins would have offered advice about how to deal with his attacker, Richardson said.
“He would have asked all of us to forgive him,” Richardson said.