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Cops mostly do this at their own expense unless they are sent as an official Honor Guard detail. It always came out of my own pocket.


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Originally Posted by Reiche

The officer being killed in the line of duty is not a regular occurrence up here.


A fact to be grateful for....

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BCBrian Offline OP
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I too, have paid my own expenses - to go and honour people who have fallen - while serving - people that I didn't know - and had never met. I did it out of respect - and to show the family how much I appreciated the man's contribution.

I thought - it was the least I could do.


Brian

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BCBrian... given that your intent in asking this question appears to be honest and genuine, I'll give you a straight answer.

It is considered a matter of honor to attend a slain brother officer's funeral. While the actual mortuary expenses are covered by the department in question, the rest of the spectacle you see on TV and in the papers is not paid for by tax dollars. Nearly all the people in uniform at a police funeral are there on their own dime. Some agencies will send a formal representative or two, and these officers (usually command staff) MAY draw pay for that day, but it's part of their administrative/command responsibilities in any case. The rank and file coppers who attend are off-duty but in uniform, and if within driving distance, they'll be issued a squad out of the motor pool for the procession. The cost to the department is minimal... a tank of gas or so.

Most of the cops attending won't even submit their meal expenses for reimbursement. The pipers and buglers are likewise there on an honor basis. (I know of several who travel all over the country at their own expense to offer their musical services.) The floral arrangements are commonly paid for by the local patrolman benevolent association, which means the money came from cops and from fund-raising activities.

The solemn ceremony of a police funeral is a reflection of the honor of the police community, and a reflection of the sincere emotion felt over the loss to that community the officer's death represents. How much is too much? It can never be too much.



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Bc,
You will never understand unless your son makes it RCMP. Then you will. When you start to hear the truth about the stories that make the news and realize what he will do and be involved in it will keep you up at night. when you see how much money he makes to do these things you will start to understand that he could probaly make at lease double working any other decent job. I have been a cop a long time and my parents still worry about me every night that I work. Think if something would happen to him would you want ten officers at his funeral to show support for all the good that he will have done? The money that I see the goverment piss away it does not matter to me who pays for it as long as there is strong showing for the family.
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They are paying respect to fellow officers as they and we should. Rankling over money at such a time debases the honor and sacrifice these men and woman make.


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I have several thoughts on this subject; here goes:

- The police and firemen who serve our communities provide a valuable and necessary service in protecting us and making our lives better. For this they are to be commended.
- Other public service employees, including
(1) Water department workers who fix broken water mains in freezing weather,
(2) Child welfare workers who protect some of the most vulnerable people,
(3) Snow plow drivers who keep our roads clear in icy conditions also provide services that keep us safe and better off.
(4) Road maintenance crews who repair roads and occasionally are struck by traffic.

Their jobs and others can also lead to death and injury but they are not given massive public funerals.

About 30 years ago, there was a well-liked police officer who was killed in an auto accident while chasing a speeder in the Washington DC area. There was the usual very large funeral procession with many officers and probably in excess of 300 patrol cars from hundreds of miles around (I saw one that was from Massachusetts - 400 miles away). I do not know who paid for the automobile expenses, but they were considerable.

Traffic was tied up on the Washington Beltway and its' feeder ramps for about an hour (the beltway is 4-6 lanes wide in each direction and carries heavy traffic - sometimes as many as 250,000 vehicles per day (mostly during rush hours). I was stuck in this traffic jam for 2 hours while the procession passed and the congestion gradually returned to normal.

I don�t know what to conclude from this, but a police officer�s death (tragic as it is) should not be a reason to cause massive inconvenience to the general population.

Whenever any public service employee or anyone else is killed on the job, it is sad and regrettable, but I do not think that causing major inconvenience to the area is justified.

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Then getting to you in YOUR time of need shouldn't either!


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"Just a Cop"

The funeral line was long,
There's an awful lot of cars,
Folks came out of the restaurants,
They came out of the bars.

The workers at the construction sites
All let their hammers drop.
Someone asked."What is this all for?"
And they said,"Aw, just a cop."

Some chuckled at the passing cars.
Some shed a silent tear
Some people said,"It's stupid.
all these dumb policemen here."

"How come they're not out fightn' crime?
Or in a doughnut shop?
Sure is a lot of trouble,
For someone who's just a cop."

They blocked the intersections,
They blocked the interstate.
People yelled and cursed,
"Damn, it's gonna make me late!"

"This is really ridiculous!"
"They're makin' us all stop!"
"It seems they're sure wastin' time,
On someone who's just a cop."

Into the cemetery now,
The slow procession comes,
The woeful Taps are slowly played.
There's loud salutes from guns.

The graveyard workers shake their heads
"This service is a flop."
"There's lots of good words wasted,
On someone who's just a cop."

Yeah, just a cop to most folks.
Did his duty every day.
Tryin' to protect us,
Till they took his life away.

And when he got to heaven,
St. Peter put him at the top.
An angel asked him, "Who was that?"
And he said, "Aw, just a cop."

Author Unknown


George Orwell was a Prophet, not a novelist. Read 1984 and then look around you!

Old cat turd!

"Some men just need killing." ~ Clay Allison.

I am too old to fight but I can still pull a trigger. ~ Me


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djs Offline
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As Tangozulo notes "I have a lot of sympathy for anyone loosing their lives in the public service."

Does this apply to a state or city highway worker who is struck and killed by traffic? I have not seen many large funerals for them.

Also, it costs about $0.60 aned $0.75 per mile to operate a car (depreciation, tires, insurance (either self or commercial), maintenance, gasoline, etc. While the attending officers may pay for the gas (about $0.11 cents per mile), I don;t think they are billed the extra $0.50 cents per mile for their trip.

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I know that I would like to never go to another and that they are not a good time.


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djs Offline
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Originally Posted by T LEE
Then getting to you in YOUR time of need shouldn't either!


That is their job, what is in their Position Description and what they are paid for.

I've known several young men who have died in the service of their country (Vietnam, Iraq, training accidents, etc.). They were there for the nation in a time of need and paid the ultimate price. Their funerals were not attended by anyone other than their families and the military honor guard. Why did not the police officers from miles around attend (maybe because their uniforms were olive or gray and not blue; or maybe they just did not think it was important to respect to someone not in their club.

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Brian, you raise an interesting point, and frankly it isn't one I've given a lot of thought to, simply because it is to me a matter of a group of people who take their job to "serve & protect" seriously and feel that at these times it is honourable to honour a fallen brother/sister officer. Over the years I have been a pastor, I have officated at too many funerals (thankfully not any for a police officer), and know that there is a certain comfort in "being together" during these times. My BIL retired from a police force three years ago after 30 years of service. He attended funerals for other officers in various parts of the country and in the United States. The expenses came out of the family coffers, not the force, not the Police Comission, not the Province...he felt duty bound to be present. I have no problem with any of these gatherings being at "my expense" as a tax payer, in fact, it's a drop in the proverbial bucket. Their lives surely are "worth" some measure of public support.

Paul

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So, are you mad that people go to cops funerals or that cops don't go to everybody's funerals?


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I knew a hell of a lot more than a few that died in Vietnam and have family that died in WWII so you could spout your liberal BS. SHUT THE F UP AZZHAT when you don't know what you are talking about!

I was THERE DAMMIT!


George Orwell was a Prophet, not a novelist. Read 1984 and then look around you!

Old cat turd!

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Originally Posted by djs
I don�t know what to conclude from this, but a police officer�s death (tragic as it is) should not be a reason to cause massive inconvenience to the general population.
Whenever any public service employee or anyone else is killed on the job, it is sad and regrettable, but I do not think that causing major inconvenience to the area is justified.


I'm a cop. I've made it very clear to my friends and family that I do not want a police funeral for personal reasons. (Not related to convenience or taxpayer expense)

I've also given careful thought to the original poster's thoughts about the cost to taxpayers for police funerals and can understand that argument.

But to refer to the death of anyone, regardless of their chosen profession or station in life, as an inconvenience is tragically selfish and immature.


Originally Posted by SBTCO
your flippant remarks which you so adeptly sling
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Originally Posted by ltppowell
So, are you mad that people go to cops funerals or that cops don't go to everybody's funerals?


Actually, neither. I was just trying to make the point that many people die in public service and few citizens show up.

Maybe the Army's (or other military branches) union just does not push the issue hard enough?

In any event, it is tragic when anyone doing their job dies in the line of duty.

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Originally Posted by T LEE
I knew a hell of a lot more than a few that died in Vietnam and have family that died in WWII so you could spout your liberal BS. SHUT THE F UP AZZHAT when you don't know what you are talking about!

I was THERE DAMMIT!


When you come to DC, give me a ring. I'll take you to my family gravesites (multiple) in Arlington National Cemetary. I think my family has earned the right to speak their opinion.

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Yeah, it's pretty dissapointing seeing T Lee resort to the STFU argument. Touchy subject I suppose but the size of funerals for cops vs soldiers seems like a fair enough question.

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Living in Washington state I was deeply moved by the funerals for our slain officers.I also was moved by the turn out of the cmp to honor our officers,I just wish we could do the same for our soldiers who put their lives on the line for our freedom every day.

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