SAN DIEGO — The Grape Street Dog Park in South Park is a bustling neighborhood spot, that holds some deep memories.
It's the place where San Diego Police Officers Kimberly Sue Tonahill and Timothy Ruopp died while in the line of duty, in September 1984.
"I just feel that there's a lot of people who come here who probably don't even know what happened here almost 40 years ago," Sarita Flaming, Tonahill's best friend, said.
Tonahill was a San Diego Police Rookie at the time, having been on the job for 11 months. Ruopp, who had been with the Department for about 2.5 years, was patrolling the area when he came across two men, drinking with two underage girls. Ruopp, preparing to write a misdemeanor citation, called for backup and Tonahill answered. She was patting down one of the men. That's when he pulled a gun and shot at her and Ruopp.
"It was just very eerie because the shooting had stopped, the people had apparently hidden, and there was nobody out there," Gary Mitrovich, an SDPD officer at the time, said while retelling the moments. "Just two police cars facing a car and nothing else moving."
Mitrovich got to the scene moments after the shooting, having heard the gunshots. Soon after, he found himself exchanging fire with the man. Mitrovich took a shot to the shoulder.
"Then he disappeared into the darkness and I didn’t know what else I had out here," he said. "I knew I had two officers down, so I backed up to check on the officers and see what I could do for them, and unfortunately, there wasn’t anything I could do."
Tonahill had died at the scene, Ruopp would die soon after. Tamee Tonahill, Kimberly's sister, remembered the moment she and her mom got the news.
"We all hugged and cried and hugged and cried... it was devastating," she said. "My sister was really the kindest soul you would ever meet. She had a smile that brightened up the room."
More than 3,000 people attended the double-funeral for Tonahill and Ruopp on September 18th, 1984. At the time, it was the biggest turnout for a funeral in City of San Diego history.
Flaming is now pushing for a memorial of some kind. She says renaming the park in Tonahill and Ruopp's honor would be "going big."
"If not, I want to have some sort of memorial-- a plaque, a sign, something so when people go through these gates right here, they know what happened," she said.
Flaming's in the very early stages-- there's no GoFundMe or donation page. She's in the process of creating a video to pitch the idea to local organizations and the City of San Diego. She says SDPD Chief Nisleit is on board.
"I made her a promise that I would never let her be forgotten," Flaming said. "Hopefully, on the 40-year anniversary this year, I will have come full circle with that."