A family is joining their community in grieving the loss of fallen San Benito police Lt. Milton Resendez.

Resendez was hospitalized following a Tuesday police chase that resulted in a shooting. He succumbed from his injuries at the hospital. 

The 54-year-old leaves behind Melissa, his wife of 27 years.

“She understands the dangers of the job, and she's understood that for the last 27 years that she's been with him,” Jimmy Manrrique, a relative of Resendez, said. “But she never thought that this day would come."

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Lt. Resendez served as a police officer for 32 years. He worked for the Brownsville, Palm Valley and San Benito CISD police departments before coming to San Benito.

Resendez served as a San Benito police officer for nearly 27 years. 

“They're feeling the pain,” Manrrique said. “He died doing what he loved."

Manrrique says work was Resendez’s priority.

READ MORE: San Benito police officer killed in overnight shooting, two suspects arrested

“He loved serving the city of San Benito,” Manrrique said. “That's what he was doing, he was protecting the public."

Resendez's family says he was going to retire next year.

The loss of Resendez can be seen outside the San Benito Police Department where flowers, letters and wings decorate a police unit in Resendez's honor. 

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