Hundreds of people gathered along the streets in Boulder, Colorado, to pay their respects as the body of the officer who was slain in the deadly shooting on Monday drove past in a hearse.
Photos of the procession, which took place Wednesday, show people waving flags and standing with their hands on their hearts in honor of the fallen policeman, 51-year-old Eric Talley. His body was transported from the Boulder County Coroner’s Office to a funeral home in Aurora, according to the Boulder Daily Camera.
Talley was killed while responding to a gunman who opened fire at a King Soopers store Monday afternoon. Nine others also died in the carnage.
The shooting suspect, Ahmad al Aliwi Alissa, 21, was apprehended and placed into custody. He has been charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder, and he took a bullet to the leg before his arrest.
Talley, a father of seven, was the first to respond after gunfire erupted. Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold said his actions were “heroic.”
“Rest In peace Officer Eric Talley,” the Boulder Police Department wrote in a tweet shortly after he was gunned down. “Your service will never be forgotten.”
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City officials also parked Talley’s patrol car outside of the station in a symbolic gesture. The vehicle has since been draped with flowers, notes, and pro-police insignia.
Officer Eric Talley was killed heroically responding to the #BoulderShooting on Monday. His police vehicle is parked outside the @boulderpolice station at 1805 33rd St. in memory of Eric and his service. pic.twitter.com/7Cr2xNGcFR
— City of Boulder (@bouldercolorado) March 23, 2021
Talley served with the department for 10 years.
“He was such a good man and a wonderful friend,” Officer Roth, who did not provide her first name, told the Boulder Daily Camera. “I think many have said it, but he had a wonderful sense of humor and just cared about people more than himself. It’s hard to talk about. He impacted everyone in our department in some way.”
Rebecca Rademacher, who donned a thin blue line shirt, traveled to pay her respects to Talley.
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“It’s very emotional what the cops are going through,” she told the outlet. “It’s heartbreaking. When one of them goes down, I want to show our support.”
Of the nine others who died during the violence was a local business manager, an actress, and a soon-to-be grandfather.
