NAPPANEE, Ind. (AP):  An Indianapolis police officer fatally shot in the line of duty Friday was remembered in his hometown as a gregarious man who reached out to others.

Officer Rod Bradway, 41, graduated in 1991 from NorthWood High School in Nappanee, where Assistant Principal Jay Olson coached him in football and track. He remembered Bradway as athletic and willing to help others, traits that were reflected in his career path.

“You never want this to happen,” Olson told the Elkhart Truth. “Especially when you know he gravitated around the areas of helping people. It’s always a tragic situation.”

Jon Andrews also coached Bradway at the school. “Always had a smile on his face. Always concerned about others,” Andrews said. “I think he loved people and loved athletics, and both of those showed up in the way he built his life.”

Fred Myers, a NorthWood Middle School teacher and track coach, said Bradway was the “type of kid that would run through walls for you.”

Myers said if he had a son, he would have wanted him to be like Bradway.

“If you ever wanted someone to represent your police department in a positive way, he is the guy you want,” Myers said.

Bradway also was a kicker on the school’s football team and played basketball, as well as participating in FFA and jazz band.