Family, friends, well-wishers and hundreds of law enforcement officials poured into the Jericho City of Praise church Saturday for the funeral of Maryland State Police Trooper Wesley Brown.
By 9:15 a.m. there were hundreds of officers gathered outside of the Landover, Md. church. Law enforcement officials from all over the nation came to honor Brown, who was shot to death outside of a Forestville Applebee’s early on June 11. States represented included Vermont, New Hampshire, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, said Maryland State Police spokesman Greg Shipley.
David Duffany, a volunteer firefighter with the Riverdale Heights fire department in Prince George’s County, brought a self-made banner featuring 100 patches from various departments from around the country to honor Brown, as well as all the other law enforcement officers felled in the line of duty.
“This is in their legacy; not mine,” he said. “It was sad to see [Brown] pass on.”
“It just goes to show you — guys can sew,” he quipped, injecting a sense of humor into the solemn mood outside the church on the hot, muggy Saturday morning.
The funeral service itself, titled “A Celebration of Life,” could be described as sober and respectful — but also joyful at times.
“We do not mourn a death; we celebrate a life,” remarked the Elder Joel R. Peebles, Sr., Assistant Pastor for Jericho City of Praise.
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson both spoke at the service.
Several law enforcement officials and family members delivered uplifting remarks remembering Brown’s service, both to the state of Maryland and his community. In 2007, he founded “Young Men Enlightening Younger Men,” a youth mentoring group. A charitable fund to benefit the community and members of the group has been set up in Brown’s name.
Brown was off-duty and working part-time as security at the Applebee’s when he was killed. Cyril Williams, 27, and Anthony Anderson Milton II, 28, both of Seat Pleasant, have been charged with first-degree murder in the case.
Brown had tossed Williams out of the Applebee’s prior to the shooting, which police believe was the motive behind the attack.
