Joey Gallo recalled meeting slain Dallas police officer in moving Instagram post

Rangers Triple-A prospect Joey Gallo took to Instagram to honor one of the Dallas police officers killed in Thursday's tragic shooting during a peaceful protest march. According to the post, Gallo and Rangers teammate Nomar Mazara were walking down a street in downtown Dallas a couple of months ago when they were stopped by officer Patrick Zamarripa -- who recognized the players, and asked if they wouldn't mind taking a picture with him. The three ended up talking about sports, and on Friday, Gallo shared the photo along with a touching remembrance:

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A couple months ago @nomazara26 and I were walking down the street in downtown Dallas. When an officer stopped us, Mazara and I immediately became nervous, "I know who you guys are" he said. "Joey Gallo and Nomar Mazara, can I get a picture with you guys please?" It was definitely a first for me and Nomar to have an officer, a true hero, want to meet us. His name is Patrick Zamarripa, one of the officers killed in last nights shootings in Dallas. I'll never forget how kind and down to Earth he was. We ended up having a 15 minute conversation about sports with him. He was an avid Rangers fan. But more importantly a great person, and family man. Please keep Patrick, and all the officers affected and their families in our prayers today. #prayfordallas

A post shared by Joey Gallo (@joeygallo24) on Jul 8, 2016 at 2:09pm PDT

Zamarripa, 32, was a father and Navy veteran who served three tours of duty in Iraq.