Lincoln Police investigator Luis Mario Herrera passed away at the age of 50 on September 7, 2020 after being shot on duty on August 26, 2020.
Mario was born on May 12, 1970 in Inglewood, California. At the age of 7, his family moved to Faucett, Missouri where he spent the rest of his childhood. He was very active in school, being on the Football, Basketball, Wrestling, and Track teams, as well as playing the saxophone for the school band.
He earned a degree in Political Science from the University of Missouri-Columbia, minoring in Spanish. There, he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity.
After graduating from the University, Mario served in the U.S. Army. In 1995, he moved to Lincoln, Nebraska where he joined the Nebraska State Patrol. After two years of serving in this position, he joined the Lincoln Police Department in 1997. He served this department for twenty-three years.
He was described by Assistant Lincoln Police Chief Brian Jackson as the city's "most dedicated and selfless police officers" having helped solve countless crimes from robberies to homicides. He was also an active member of his church and community and served as a mentor for many young police officers. Over the years, he went from an officer to a plain-clothes investigator for the department.
On August 26, 2020, Mario went to the home of 17-year-old Felipe Vazquez to serve an arrest warrant in connection to the stabbing death of Edward Varejcka in March of 2020. According to the authorities, Vasquez shot Mario in the torso while trying to escape.
Mario was taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. There he spent several days holding on and fighting before passing away, surrounded by family, in the early morning of September 7, 2020. He was the first Lincoln police officer to be killed in the line of duty since 1968.
Mario is survived by his wife, Carrie, and four children, as well as swathes of loving family, friends and comrades. When Mario's body was transported back to Lincoln from Omaha, the procession drew countless people.
His funeral was held at Lincoln's Pinnacle Bank Arena on September 12, 2020. Once again, hundreds gathered along the processional route to pay respects. He was then buried at Calvary Cemetery.