By now I'm sure you've heard of the four police officers in Oakland, California who were killed in the line of duty last weekend. Today was their public funeral, which was held at Oakland's Oracle Arena, home of the NBA's Golden State Warriors. Law enforcement from all over, including the town of Dublin, turned out en masse to honor these men. In addition to agencies from all over the US, units from Mexico, as well as a unit from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were here to pay their respects. All in all, over 21,000 people attended the service. This afternoon, as the four were taken to their final resting places, each and every freeway overpass in Dublin had two fire trucks on it, facing the traffic that was carrying their commrades. These trucks had their lights flashing, flags flying, and each truck's crew was standing on top of the truck, saluting the procession. In addition to service personnel, there were scores of folks just like you and me standing there as well, American flags clasped to their chests, silently weeping for the fallen. I only wish I had my camera at the ready to capture the deeply moving sight. (Calling the sight "deeply moving" doesn't even begin to do it justice)
By the time I had my camera handy, the moment had passed and the last truck was on its way to resume its daily duties.
Dubliners are good people; I'm extremely proud to live amongst them and call them my neighbors.
Head here to see photos taken by our local photojournalists of the AP. Pictures say it better than words ever could.
Our law officials around here are so special to us. I can't imagine loosing one of them.
ReplyDeleteI know everyone was saddened to hear about this unthinkable act.
Thank you for honoring them in your own way.
The AP photos captured the mood.
Our thought go out to their families.
It's been a hard week; I can't imagine what their families are going through.
ReplyDeleteThe Bay Area is actually hundreds of cities all jammed together into one big metropolitan area; you can drive for 10 minutes and go through 3 towns without knowing it. But, it's in times like these that the boundries especially seem to disappear and we all become one big community. Seeing people band together and support each other was gratifying and heartbreaking at the same time.