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Every day before he left, DART Officer Brent Thompson's daughter would say "Goodbye Daddy, I love you. Be safe." Now she won't be able to again. WFAA
The casket of Dallas Police Sr. Cpl. Lorne Ahrens is carried to the grave site at Restland Memorial Park in Dallas on July 13, 2016.(Photo: Torin Halsey, Wichita Falls Times Record News, via USA TODAY NETWORK)
DALLAS<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— Two angels look<span style="color: Red;">*</span>toward the skies, one lifting her left arm and the other her right,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>both<span style="color: Red;">*</span>clutching a victory wreath in their raised hand.
A fallen firefighter rests on the wing of one angel. A<span style="color: Red;">*</span>police officer, also fallen, is carried by another.
On Wednesday, Dallas Police Department Sr. Cpl. Lorne Ahrens, 48, was that fallen police officer depicted on the statue at Restland Park Memorial in Dallas. Ahrens and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>four other officers were fatally gunned down July 7 as they protected protesters during a police brutality march spurred by recent police shootings.
The 40-foot tall bronze sculpture with a stone base is part of Restland Public Safety Memorial Gardens reserved for<span style="color: Red;">*</span>firefighters and law enforcement officers in Dallas County killed in the line of duty.
A horse-drawn hearse carried Ahrens’ body from Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, to the grave site as his wife of about 12 years, Katrina,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>their children, Sorcha and Magnus, and family members followed. The 14-year DPD veteran was buried with full honors.
A celebration of Ahrens’ life was held earlier that morning. Speakers used<span style="color: Red;">*</span>phrases like “gentle giant” and “kid with a big body” to describe the 6-feet-4, 300-pound public servant. They spoke of his faith, his love for his family and his never-wavering desire to protect and serve the public.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God,” pastor Rick Owen told the almost 6,000 people at the morning service, including family, friends and fellow officers. “Blessed are the peacemakers. Blessed are those who will make peace to protect peace<span style="color: Red;">*</span>because they will be called the sons and daughters of God.”
In a touching<span style="color: Red;">*</span>personal moment, Owen asked Katrina to look at him and to repeat these words: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” He turned to Sorcha and did the same. Next was Magnus.
USA TODAY
Thousands attend funerals for slain Dallas officers
Finally, he asked those in the congregation to hold hands and repeat: “We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.” Thousands of voices echoed throughout the sanctuary, delivering on the pastor’s wishes.
Later, Owen had a specific message for Ahrens’ children. He used the biblical story of Christ’s disciples, who were in a boat on a lake when a fierce storm brewed, striking fear in the men. Christ walked on water toward his disciples, reassuring them and praying for them.
He told Sorcha and Magnus that Jesus did the same for their father the night of the shooting, rising above the fear and praying for their dad.
“I don’t understand it. It shouldn’t have happened,” Owen said. “I wish I could give you a perfect answer, but I can’t. I don’t know what to tell you, but I know who can tell you.”
There were some lighter moments shared of the bigger-than-life, tattooed<span style="color: Red;">*</span>officer who loved heavy metal music.
Cpl.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Eddie Coffey attended the same police academy as Ahrens in 2002 and remembers his first impression — he was big. He said the academy pairs recruits together based on similar size, and he was hoping he wasn’t selected to be Ahrens’ partner. Instead, fellow recruit Seth Rosenberg “was the lucky one to draw that straw.”
“Seth and Lorne never knew what 50%<span style="color: Red;">*</span>was,” he said. “You would always see one of them flying across the room.”
Officer Debbie Taylor said her fallen friend was dynamic, funny, courageous, passionate and enthusiastic about his job.
She recalled early in their careers a domestic violence situation they responded to with the suspect still on the scene and behaving aggressively. She said Ahrens’ “calming” presence enabled him to eventually take the suspect into custody<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and go inside the residence, where he was met by a 6-year-old boy.
“It was clear the boy was frightened by the events of the evening, and this huge stranger who had just walked in through the door,” Taylor said. “Before he would speak to the (child), Lorne knelt down so he was eye-level with the child. He (the child) spoke to him within minutes and had the boy smiling and laughing. He had that affect on all of us.”
Representatives from the Wichita Falls Police Department and Wichita County Sheriff’s Office joined fellow law enforcement officers at the service.Twelve riders from North Texas Patriot Guard Riders, including a few riders from Lawton, Okla., also made the trip to pay tribute to the fallen officer. They were led by 65-year-old chief ride captain Mike Jefferson.
“We do it for all of our military and first responders,” he said. “It’s just something the Patriot Guard does.”
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