BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Law enforcement officers came from Indiana, New York, California and other far-flung places Friday to salute Matthew Gerald, a Baton Rouge police officer who was killed by a lone gunman Sunday in an attack that has shaken Baton Rouge.
During Gerald's funeral service, his closest friends and fellow officers repeatedly described the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps veteran as a patriot. They gave him a hero's goodbye as they folded the flag from his coffin at the end of the service. As pallbearers carried the coffin from the church, an honor guard played "Amazing Grace" on bagpipes.
"I know Matt and he couldn't have scripted a more beautiful way to go," said his longtime close friend Dave Mulkey.
The seats at Healing Place Church on Highland Road where the funeral service was held were almost entirely full. The church holds close to 3,000 people, and many public officials were there along with law enforcement officers.
Gerald's wife and daughters laid flowers on his casket before the funeral began. Police Chief Carl Dabadie said the killings of Gerald and two other officers who will be buried in the next few days have been "one of the heaviest burdens of my life and my career."
Mulkey remembered his final conversation with Gerald, saying it summed up how his friend lived his life. Mulkey texted him to stay safe during protests in Baton Rouge after police killed Alton Sterling a few weeks ago.
"I'm gonna do what I've got to do to keep y'all safe, ole boy," Gerald had responded.
Copyright 2016 The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.
Tribune News Service
