On 15 December 1994, the sergeant of the municipal police of the Spanish city of San Sebastian (Basque Country), Alfonso Morcillo, an evangelical Christian, was shot dead by the terrorist group ETA.

Over three decades later, Medellín, a town of Extremadura on the western border of Spain, where he was born, honoured him with an act attended by national authorities such as the government delegate of the province, José Luis Quintana; the secretary general of the presidency, interior and social dialogue Council, David González; and local authorities such as councillors and mayors of the towns where Morcillo was born and he worked as a policeman.

They inaugurated a street named after him and a tribute sculpture.

“Outstanding debt”

Quintana pointed out that the tribute was also for Cati Romero, the sergeant's widow, “because she represents the living memory of that which must never happen”.

“All of Spain has an outstanding debt to Alfonso”, who was “one of the thousands of migrants who were looking for a better life” in the north of Spain and “a public servant killed for doing his job of defending and protecting citizens”, he added.

For González, “this tribute partially pays off the debt owed to public servants who gave their lives for our rule of law, which must never give in to terrorists”. The national government representative also stressed the need to “raise awareness among the younger generations of the scourge of terrorism”.

From Medellín to San Sebastián

Alfonso Morcillo worked in the Basque city of San Sebastián. A city councillor recalled that “he was a man committed to his duty, and his life was marked by his vocation to serve his country [...] This recognition is an act of justice and gratitude and a symbol that his struggle was not in vain”.

The mayor of Lasarte-Oria, a municipality where Morcillo worked, described him as someone “who left his homeland in search of a better future and whose work helped to make the Basque Country a better place”.

Finally, the mayor of Medellín, Rafael Mateos, pointed out that “this tribute comes from the enormous affection and admiration of a town for the figure of Alfonso Morcillo”.

“He gave a great testimony”

Jaime Ardiaca, pastor of the evangelical church in the Amara neighbourhood of San Sebastián, which Morcillo attended, and a personal friend told in an interview for Spanish news website Protestante Digital, that Alfonso “was a loved and well-known person, although not loved by everyone”.

“ETA did not usually kill municipal police officers. For the church and those of us who knew him, it was a very big impact”. However, “despite the pain of that death, it was not a senseless death. He gave a great faith testimony”.

Ardiaca recalled that “the funeral was held in the City Council, in the presence of a large number of people. We were able to bear witness of the faith that Alfonso had in Jesus, of who he was in his work”.

Furthermore, “the church united more in the work of spreading the gospel and the values of the gospel that our Basque society needed so much”.