WESTERVILLE, OH (WCMH) — Thousands turned out to memorialize fallen Columbus SWAT Officer Steve Smith.
Smith’s funeral service was Tuesday at St. Paul Catholic Church in Westerville.
He was shot during a standoff April 10th and was taken off life support two days later.
Hundreds of police vehicles from nearly 120 jurisdictions were parts of the procession to carry Smith’s body, including dozens of SWAT vehicles.
Scott Burdick, with the Mason Police Department near Cincinnati, was one of them.
“Every other officer here would do the same for everybody else so it’s a part of our job,” he said. “We’re proud to do it.”
Pete Tobin, who represented the U.S. Marshals Service, said he has never been to a SWAT officer’s memorial in his 45 years of service.
“This was a tough one for me,” he said. “And these guys go right back doing it like nothing ever happened because they’re warriors. . . . I can’t say enough about them, except Godspeed.”
Those in attendance spoke not only of paying respects, but also of expressing thanks to law enforcement.
For Patricia Duffey of Westerville, attending the funeral was important–but so was bringing her grandson, Ashton.
“There are so many people that go out here and go to work expecting to go home to their family, their loved ones, their children and he (Smith) was in the line of duty,” she said. “It’s important I bring him (Ashton) out here so that he learns respect.
“And I hope he never has to see this again.”
After Tuesday’s funeral service for Smith, mourners gathered outside St. Paul Catholic Church for a police honor guard ceremony.
The tributes included a 3-shot volley from each of seven rifles, a riderless horse draped with a black cloth and a helicopter flyover where one helicopter veers away from three others to symbolize the fallen brother.
The honor guard included teams of officers from police departments around the state.
Jason Reeme from the University of Cincinnati police department participated as a member of the Hamilton County Police Association.
“It’s inspiring,” Reeme said. “It’s huge to actually see the amount of support that people do have for police officers. Just makes your heart feel good.”
The Columbus Police and Fire Pipes and Drums Corp was joined by drummers and bagpipers from around the state. Columbus patrol officer Jim Parsons has been playing bagpipes for 14 years.
“It’s very humbling and honestly, to be able to pipe a fallen brother home to heaven, it’s the most honorable thing we could do,” Parsons said.
Parsons was one of any attending today’s service who did not personally know Steve Smith but who feel very connected to him now.
“The stories that I’ve heard about him this past week, he’s an amazing person at everything that he did and it’s a shame I never got to meet him but I do feel absolutely closer to him after this week,” Parsons said.
Michael Coleman, the former mayor of Columbus, said the service today left him thinking about the dedication and sacrifice of all police officers.
“I would ask every citizen in our city, every single one today, that if you see a police officer – say thank you,” Coleman said. “They need to hear it.”What others are clicking on: