'Ty Was a Bright Light': Calif. Police Chief Pays Tribute to Fallen Officer
By Darrell Smith and Rosalio Ahumada
Source The Sacramento Bee
Tyler Lenehan was remembered Tuesday as a bright light and for his infectious smile. He was remembered for the love he had for his wife and family and a profound faith that came to him later in life. And he was remembered for an indefatigable sense of hope that the hundreds gathered at his memorial hoped to cling to in the days and weeks ahead.
Law enforcement officers by the hundreds from Fort Bragg to the north to Orange, Irvine and Oceanside to the south filled the Bayside Church Adventure Campus in Roseville for the farewell to the Elk Grove motor officer.
The most powerful scene, perhaps, in a day full of them, the sight of the Elk Grove Police Department, more than 240 strong, making their way into the Bayside sanctuary. They were soon followed by the long file of Sacramento Police in support of their sister officer, Jessica Lenehan, and the couple's two children. Outside, a long row of motorcycles and the fraternity of motor officers of which Lenehan had been so proud to call his own.
"Ty was a bright light. He was the bright light for our family," a somber Elk Grove Police Chief Timothy Albright said from the sanctuary stage, Lenehan's flag-draped coffin flanked by honor guard below. Albright recalled the early morning hours before making his way to the Roseville church, the site of so many memorials before.
"Outside, it was incredibly dark, but in the sky there was a bright star," Albright said. "Ty is the light that will guide our path. The darkness leads to light and with that light comes hope, celebration and healing."
The mid-morning service for the 44-year-old Lenehan, who in 2020 earned a dream assignment as a member of Elk Grove's motor patrol, took place nearly two weeks after he was fatally struck on his way to work early Jan. 21 by a suspected drunken wrong-way driver on Highway 99 in Sacramento.
Albright spoke of Lenehan's "selfless approach" to everything he did and his "infectious smile."
"We grieve with you, we mourn with you, we will celebrate with you and we will heal with you shoulder to shoulder day and day out," Albright told Lenehan's family gathered at the memorial service.
"Today is about Ty, remembering him, celebrating his life and honoring him," Elk Grove Police Lt. Lindsey Goesch said at Tuesday's service. "But most important is the ultimate sacrifice he and his family made."
Goesch thanked those in the audience for their support, telling fellow law enforcement officers the Elk Grove Police Department is "forever grateful."
"The last 11 days have been hard but we have been comforted by your outpouring of love, generosity, care and support," Goesch said. "Our community and allied agencies both near and far wrapped their arms around us, so we can in turn wrap our arms around each other when we needed it the most. You've all reminded us why law enforcement is such a noble and honorable profession."
Lenehan's pastor emotionally recalled the Elk Grove officer's "big heart, his big smile. He was a big guy." said Phil Layton, pastor of Gold Country Baptist Church. "We don't grieve without hope — the hope that Ty had."
Layton also recalled Lenehan's spiritual journey back to the tiny foothill church where his grandmother and great-grandmother both worshipped. Layton said Lenehan's faith didn't come easily, but soon was a constant presence at the church, and pledging to be "a better husband, a better father."
His motor officer family offered their own, poignant farewell, their presence felt throughout, from their heartfelt words to the row of helmets that lined the stage behind Lenehan's casket.
As one by one, they filed past the casket of the man they knew as family, each paused, then pounded the casket's lid with a single thump, before carrying away their helmet for the long walk up the aisle.
Outside this church poised on a bluff overlooking Roseville, Lenehan's law enforcement family silently waited in row after row of blue, black, khaki and green for the procession that would lead his final journey.
The memorial and the procession from Roseville to Folsom to El Dorado County and Lenehan's final resting place in the tiny community of Rescue capped a wrenching week not only in Elk Grove, where he was the first officer to die on duty in the city's history, but across Sacramento's close-knit law enforcement community.
Lenehan, a U.S. Air Force veteran, began his career with the Citrus Heights Police Department before moving on to the Galt Police Department, an agency still struggling with the loss months ago of one of its own also in a traffic collision. For the last six years, Lenehan, known as "Ty" to his fellow officers, served with the Elk Grove Police Department.
At a powerful candlelight vigil and a later procession in Elk Grove last week, hundreds of residents crowded outside Elk Grove's police station and lined city streets marked with blue ribbon to offer solemn thanks to the fallen motorcycle officer.
Outside the memorial service, and along the winding route to Rescue, hundreds would gather again Tuesday for Lenehan's final ride and one last chance to say goodbye.
Michelle Robertson and her sister, Brenda Reese, stood on sidewalk in the blustering, cold wind near East Natoma Street and Green Valley Road in Folsom to watch the funeral procession drive by.
They traveled from their homes in Rancho Murieta to volunteer, putting together snack bags with bottles of water and handwritten notes from children for officers attending Lenehan's memorial service. Once they were done at the Roseville church, they drove to small shopping center in Folsom and waited for the funeral procession.
Robertson said they wanted to pay their respects to the fallen officer as well as the Elk Grove police chief, who is a family friend.
"We wanted to show our support for him and his family and the Elk Grove Police Department," said Robertson, whose husband was parked near Douglas and Sierra College boulevards to watch the procession. "Such a tragedy."
Reese said the atmosphere was somber at the church before the memorial service began, but she was overwhelmed at how many different police agencies showed up.
"It was extremely moving, just the amount of support from throughout California," Reese said. "It's really important for us to support law enforcement and show our appreciation for his service."
There were about 20 people who gathered at various spots along the Natoma Street and Green Valley Road intersection, some of them waiting with large American flags for the procession to drive by.
Colleen Shannon of Folsom showed up with her four daughters. They had three signs with painted drawings of the American flag and messages of "Thank You" for Lenehan.
The mother said she wants her children to understand how law enforcement officers risk their safety just to do their jobs.
"Every life has value, and we appreciate the officers who go out there and put themselves in harm's way," Shannon said.
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