Town Of Leicester Mourns Slain Auburn Police Officer

LEICESTER (CBS) -- If you want to learn more about the imprint Officer Ron Tarentino made in the town of Leicester, you need look no further than Mike's Donuts.

"He lit up the room, he really lit up the room," said employee Annie Hunt.

Officer Tarentino was a police officer first for the town of Leicester before spending two years in Auburn.

And when he wasn't protecting the streets or spending time with his family, he would most likely be found at Mike's, where he's known as Ronnie.

"My God we have not stop crying all day none of us have. The entire shop is at a standstill he was a fabulous man," said Hunt.

Hunt says before he went to work he would often stop in and order the breakfast they named after him -- the LPD special known as The Ronder.

"The Ronder is a breakfast sandwich with meat and it's on a donut," said Hunt.

The stereotype of cops and donuts did not affect him one bit. Here he's "top cop," and even has a mug named after him. His smile proudly hangs on the wall of fame of regulars.

As soon as the news broke of Ronnie's death, prayers and support have not stopped.

"I just did a jar to make up a donation for Ron's family," said Hunt.

Annie says Ronnie took great pride in his work, his appetite, but most importantly the people he was called to serve.

"He was here one day out of uniform and a woman with an infant were here and he went up to her to make sure her car seat was partially installed," said Hunt.

"That's the type of person he was," she said.

His imprint is so vast that even the local Auburn Fire youth baseball team stopped practice early and took a knee at the police station to pay their respects.

"It's very humbling hard to put into words, we just feel for the family and is not much we can say," said Auburn Fire baseball coach Rick Therrien.

Although he was only 42 years old and still had much to more to give, what he gave will live in the hearts of the people he loved and served.

"This town will miss him and even though he was in Auburn this town really miss him," said Hunt.