PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) - The Latest on the funeral of a Phoenix police officer killed in an accident (all times local):
11:30 a.m.
Phoenix Police Officer Paul T. Rutherford has been remembered at a memorial service as a pastor’s son who always wanted to be a cop.
Mourners gathered at Christ’s Church of the Valley in Peoria for the Thursday morning service to pay their respects to Rutherford, who was struck and killed last week by a passing vehicle while investigating a traffic accident in west Phoenix. He was 51.
Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams and other members of the department say Rutherford was kind and funny, the type of guy who learned magic tricks to calm children.
The funeral was being followed by a procession to Phoenix Memorial Park and Cemetery for burial.
The driver of the vehicle that struck Rutherford was a 40-year-old woman who stayed at the scene.
10 a.m.
Mourners are arriving for the funeral of Phoenix police officer who was struck and killed while investigating a traffic accident.
The flag-draped casket of Officer Paul T. Rutherford has been carried into Christ’s Church of the Valley in Peoria for the Thursday morning funeral while a bagpipe played in the distance.
Rutherford died last week when he was struck by a passing vehicle in west Phoenix. He was 51.
Phoenix police officials say Rutherford was transported to an area hospital in critical condition where he was later pronounced dead.
The driver of the vehicle was a 40-year-old woman who stayed at the scene and cooperated with police.
6 a.m.
Memorial services for a Phoenix police officer who was struck and killed while investigating a traffic accident are being held Thursday.
Officer Paul T. Rutherford’s funeral is set for 10 a.m. Thursday at Christ’s Church of the Valley in Peoria, followed by a procession to Phoenix Memorial Park and Cemetery.
Rutherford died last week when he was struck by a passing vehicle in west Phoenix. He was 51.
Phoenix police officials say Rutherford was transported to an area hospital in critical condition where he was later pronounced dead.
The driver of the vehicle was a 40-year-old woman who stayed at the scene and cooperated with police.
Sgt. Tommy Thompson has said officers determined she was not impaired.
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