Rest in peace, officer John Pawlowski
Last Friday officer John Pawlowski responded to a disturbance on the highway. It was a robbery in progress and John was killed in the line of duty.
Today I went to his funeral and it was probably the saddest thing I have ever experienced. His pregnant wife, Kim, sobbed throughout most of it. President Obama wrote a letter to her which was very moving.
What keeps coming back to me now is the sea of uniforms in front of me. I couldn't help thinking that it very easily could have been my father in that box. My father going into the ground. I held his hand for most of the ceremony and tried not to cry, thinking about it.
Driving home, people had lined I-95 on either side to support John and his family and the Philadelphia police department. They had flags and signs and they lined up on overpasses and on the shoulder to see John taken to his final resting place. It was very moving, but also very sad.
The world is a frightening place when a city can lose 5 officers in less than a year. And when some the killers are career criminals... What is this world coming to?
Rest in peace, Johnny, Tim, Patrick, Isabel and Stephen. We won't forget you.
[Edit] My father is the second officer to speak on this video.