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Widow grieving after Mesa police officer killed in tragic motorcycle accident

Posted at 9:36 PM, Aug 16, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-18 00:00:23-04

For the first time, a hero with the Mesa Police Department is being remembered as Kari Carlon's husband, her everything, her soulmate.

"My head is really busy because I basically have to rewrite every plan I had for my future," Kari explained. "Because every plan we had was me and him."

Plans that sadly cannot include rewriting the tragic history of the last two days.

Monday, Officer Kurt Carlson was riding his motorcycle with his buddy in Washington. Somehow, he crashed, losing his life.

"He was the best of everybody and the best of me for sure," Kari said.

Kari and Kurt's love story began almost 20 years ago in Washington. A young couple, moving to the desert, eventually, getting married and having two beautiful kids.

And also finding a career that allowed him to find himself.

It was almost as if law enforcement was inside his DNA. It was who he was. An officer, that didn't write many tickets, instead, trying to help those in his community and his fellow brothers and sisters in blue.

"He fixed a lot of people's plumbing," she said. "Other cops that couldn't fix their own."

Officer Carlson was with Mesa PD for 17 years. He also leaves behind two children, a son and a daughter.

If you'd like to donate, an account has been set up at Desert Schools Credit Union for the kids' college education. The account number is 14006856770001.