Thousands Mourn Slain Lorain Ohio Police Officer Remembered as 'a Champion'

By Hannah Drown

Source cleveland.com

CLEVELAND—Thousands gathered Wednesday morning at Rocket Arena in both grief and gratitude, drawn together to honor the life of a Lorain police officer killed last week.

Underneath alternating blue and white lights, the atmosphere inside the arena was reverent. Gentle piano and string music played softly through the speakers as mourners from across Northeast Ohio filed in.

A slideshow of officer Phillip Wagner’s life filled the jumbotron, its reflection casting across the club-level seats.

Hours before the 11 a.m. service, Cleveland’s streets already bore the weight of the region’s sorrow.

Roadways near the arena were closed for the funeral procession, which began in Wagner’s hometown of North Ridgeville. Lines of police cruisers from dozens of agencies stretched across the Innerbelt bridge, their flashing lights leading community members to the service to say goodbye.

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At the Cliffs entrance to the arena, John Keeney of Old Brooklyn waited quietly.

“When I heard what happened, I felt utter disgust,” Keeney said. “People should support police because while they’re sleeping in their beds at night, men and women in the law enforcement community are the ones out patrolling the streets and keeping us safe.”

Rich and Nancy Higgins recently moved to Westlake after spending years as residents of North Ridgeville, where Wagner lived. Because of that, they felt like the tragedy struck one of their own and wanted to honor his life.

“We should always honor and obey our police and stand up for them,” Nancy Higgins said. “We’re here to show that love and support—not just for the family, but for all of these men and women who serve in our communities. What a sacrifice they make.”

Inside the arena, members of Wagner’s family, the more than 100 members of the Lorain Police Department and law enforcement officers for Lorain County were seated on the floor. In the stands sat officers and community members from across Ohio.

When the music stopped, the crowd rose to its feet. The sound of bagpipes and drums filled the arena with the Marines’ Hymn as Wagner’s casket, draped in a Thin Blue Line flag, was ushered in from the back of a Lorain SWAT vehicle. His wife, Jessica, walked closely behind as officers in uniform stood at attention, saluting the stage. Officers Brent Payne and Peter Gale, both wounded in the same attack that killed Wagner, were escorted in.

The hourlong service blended solemn tradition with deeply personal tributes, many of which spoke to Wagner’s children’s loss of a father.

Pastor Josh Smith of GrowthPoint Church in Amherst recalled how, while deployed, Wagner prayed for the day he would have a wife and family — prayers, the pastor said, that were answered in the life he built with Jessica and their children.

“Above everything else, you were his greatest accomplishment,” Smith said.

Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley, visibly shaken, addressed Wagner’s three children, as well.

“Your father was a champion. He loved all of you with his whole heart and worked to make the world safer for you every single day,” he said. “In times like these it is natural to ask why? Why him, Why now? But perhaps the most powerful question is how do we honor him. The answer is this: We live as he lived, we love as he loved and we serve as he served.”

Bagpipes played Amazing Grace near the end of the service before a voice echoed through the arena.

“This is the final radio call for Officer Phillip Wagner,” the dispatcher said. “Godspeed, sir. We have the watch from here.”

Among the mourners filing out of the arena was Dianne Mahar, a retired law enforcement officer from New Russia Township who had attended worship services with the Wagners. She described the service as “overwhelming and somber,” calling out the messages to Wagner’s children as especially moving.

Joel Wigley of Sheffield, a former first responder, attended with his wife and 17-year-old daughter Aceoyn.

“It was an emotional experience for us. You don’t shed tears for people you don’t know very often, but you feel this,” Joel said. “You hate seeing it for his family, you hate seeing it for his brothers beside him.

“Every single one of these guys out here, even the ones from Dayton that have never met Phil in their lives, every one of these guys, they feel that. The whole first responder community is a family.”

Aceoyn hopes to become a first responder herself, with aspirations to become a firefighter. For her, seeing the grief and sadness of the service isn’t going to deter her from her dream.

It adds to it.

“If anything, it makes me want to do it more,” she said. “I see the community that came out today, and it makes me want to fight for it and protect those that fight for us.”

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