The Denver-area policeman slain on June 21 was targeted because he was a police officer, according to the area police. Arvada Police Chief Link Strate told reporters on June 22 that Officer Gordon Beasley was “targeted because he was wearing an Arvada Police uniform and a badge.” Beasley, who served the police department for 19 years, was “ambushed” in a shooting near a local library on Monday, Strate said. The suspected assailant was also slain in the shooting, alongside John Hurley, 40, who the police described as a true hero. “Officer Beasley was ambushed by a person who expressed hatred of police officers,” Strate said about the suspect. The identity of the alleged killer would be released by a coroner later, Strate said. The so-called Samaritan has also not yet been identified. “The death of Officer Gordon Beasley was a tragic loss to this community and to this department, but most importantly, …