Lorain, Ohio — Jessica Wagner, dressed in her husband’s SWAT shirt, took a deep breath and smiled as she entered the Lorain Police Department’s roll call room, which had been named after her best friend, Phil Wagner.
In July, Northeast Ohio said goodbye to a fallen officer, but Jessica had to say goodbye to her husband and the father of her three small children.
“He died doing what he loved doing, which was protecting and serving,” Jessica said, adding that she was grateful to be with him before he died.
“I was able to say goodbye to him while his heart was still beating,” she told me.
Wagner’s family and friends said that while he enjoyed serving the community, his most important love was his wife and children.
“He loved his family,” Jessica said. “He loved his country. That was simply who he was on a daily basis.
She added that Phil enjoyed watching movies and playing with his children. She explained that she and the children had been staying with relatives. She claimed she has been unable to live in their home since his death.
“It’s too hard to be there without him,” Jessica said. “That was his favorite place to be, at home with the kids.”
According to investigators, Phillip Wagner did not have the opportunity to return home from work on July 23. He was on a lunch break when he was shot. Police discovered a man waiting with weapons and explosives before carrying out an ambush, shooting and killing Wagner while injuring officers Peter Gale and Brent Payne. The suspect was shot and killed by officers.
Elyria police have been investigating the scene, attempting to determine the cause of the deadly ambush. Police expect to release the findings soon.
Jessica said her faith is helping her get through this difficult time.
“Phil and I were both believers that God was in charge and God had a plan for everything,” Jessica informed me. “I truly believe that God had a plan for all this and I might not understand it.”
For the time being, she cherishes each memory. Even Phil’s last text message, which contained two hearts, and all of the memories they shared. Memories of a man now regarded as a hero.
“Being in the Marine Corps and having a deployment to Afghanistan, he lost friends,” Jessica told me. “He always said that heroes were the ones who did not return home, and that was his definition of a hero. We already knew he was a hero. And at the end of the day, I’m at peace knowing God was with Phil that day.”
