With their eyes closed, Kelly and Denis O'Sullivan, the parents of slain Sacramento Police officer Tara O'Sullivan, hold hands during a news conferenc...
With their eyes closed, Kelly and Denis O'Sullivan, the parents of slain Sacramento Police officer Tara O'Sullivan, hold hands during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, June 25, 2019. Denis O'Sullivan told the media that any notion that the Sacramento Police Department was responsible for her death was extremely offensive and hurtful. It took rescuers 45 minutes to reach Tara O'Sullivan after she was shot by gunman, who kept shooting at police, during a domestic violence call last week. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Kelly and Denis O'Sullivan, the parents of slain Sacramento Police officer Tara O'Sullivan, hold hands during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif.,...
Kelly and Denis O'Sullivan, the parents of slain Sacramento Police officer Tara O'Sullivan, hold hands during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, June 25, 2019. Denis O'Sullivan told reporters that any notion that the Sacramento Police Department was responsible for her death was extremely offensive and hurtful. It took rescuers 45 minutes to reach Tara O'Sullivan after she was shot by gunman, who kept shooting at police, during a domestic violence call last week. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Kelly and Denis O'Sullivan, the parents of slain Sacramento Police officer Tara O'Sullivan, hold hands during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif.,...
Kelly and Denis O'Sullivan, the parents of slain Sacramento Police officer Tara O'Sullivan, hold hands during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, June 25, 2019. Denis O'Sullivan told reporters that any notion that the Sacramento Police Department was responsible for her death was extremely offensive and hurtful. It took rescuers 45 minutes to reach Tara O'Sullivan after she was shot by gunman, who kept shooting at police, during a domestic violence call last week. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Sacramento County Assistant Chief Deputy District Attorney Rod Norgaard talks to reporters after the first court appearance of Adel Sambrano Ramos in ...
Sacramento County Assistant Chief Deputy District Attorney Rod Norgaard talks to reporters after the first court appearance of Adel Sambrano Ramos in the shooting death of Sacramento Police Officer Tara O'Sullivan, in Sacramento County Superior Court, Monday, June 24, 2019, in Sacramento, Calif. Norgaard defended police from criticism that they took 45 minutes to rescue O'Sullivan. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The father of a slain California police officer says it is offensive and hurtful to suggest authorities were responsible for her death.
Tara O'Sullivan died Wednesday after being shot while helping a woman gather her things from a Sacramento home as part of a domestic violence call. It took officers another 45 minutes before they could reach her as the gunman continued firing rounds from a high-powered rifle as O'Sullivan lay wounded.
Some police experts have criticized the department for taking so long to get to O'Sullivan, who later died at the UC Davis Medical Center.
Denis O'Sullivan told reporters Tuesday that he and his wife would never place blame on his daughter's fellow officers.
A memorial service is scheduled for Thursday in Roseville.
