TULSA - Hearts across Tulsa are broken after news that a Tulsa police officer lost her battle with cancer at 5-years-old. Aaliyah Alexander passed away Sunday morning.
On the front of Roderick Alexander's shirt, there's a little girl with arms wrapped around her father.
"I would have given my life for her just to see her grow up," he said.
It's the last hug he'll get.
"All I got are memories now," Alexander said.
In June, the 5-year-old was sworn in as an honorary Tulsa Police Officer. She'd been fighting stage four kidney cancer since she was three.
"She couldn't wear a badge and stuff because she was ill," Aaliyah's father said.
"You almost couldn't get it away from her and she wanted to show everyone. she was so proud," Tulsa Police Captain Thomas Bell said.
Early Sunday morning, she lost the fight.
"At 4:43 a.m. she took her last breath," Alexander said. "Seeing your kid trying to struggle to get oxygen and saying she can't breathe and not knowing what to do is just very hard."
It's a loss that's left the police department speechless.
"It was honor to everyone of us that she wanted to be a police officer someone that special," Captain Bell said. "Someone that brave and remarkable wanted to be apart of our family, but the reality is she was our hero."
As Roderick Alexander wears his favorite T-shirt, he thanks God for the precious gift of his beloved Aaliyah.
"She's my hero," he said.
Tulsa police say if the family wants, honor guard can be apart of the funeral service. The family plans to meet with the funeral home Tuesday. They expect a service later this week.
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