Fallen Everett officer Rocha will ‘live on’ in renamed street

EVERETT — The City Council voted Wednesday to rename a portion of Trojan Way to Officer Dan Rocha Way in honor of the Everett officer killed nearby last year.

Teary-eyed council members voiced their support and thanked Rocha and his family for their sacrifice to the community. Their vote was unanimous.

“I wish that there was more we could do to honor the memory of somebody who willingly went out there and was protecting our community and made such a sacrifice for our safety,” council member Mary Fosse said.

The change affects a roughly 550-foot portion of the 1000 block of Trojan Way near the Starbucks where a Kennewick man shot and killed the officer.

The signage is expected to change by the end of October, city spokesperson Simone Tarver said.

“This resolution tonight is a heavy reminder that when our officers serve, their families serve too,” council member Paula Rhyne said.

The Everett Police Department led the push to rename the street. Chief Dan Templeman presented the proposition to Mayor Cassie Franklin in August, who said she “fully supported” the change.

Everett Community College sits along the renamed portion of the street and has supported the resolution, according to city documents. The street was first renamed in 2021 for the community college’s mascot, the Trojan.

Rocha was killed on duty in March 2022 while visiting a Starbucks in North Everett when he noticed Richard Rotter, 50, moving guns between vehicles. After a struggle, Rotter shot Rocha, who was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 41.

In April, a jury found Rotter guilty of aggravated first-degree murder and a judge sentenced him to life in prison without parole.

“As one has said, you never die until someone says your name for the last time,” council President Brenda Stonecipher said. “If that’s true officer Rocha will live on in the street naming in our hearts and in our minds forever.”

Ashley Nash: 425-339-3037; ashley.nash@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @ash_nash00.