Thousands attend Nassau cop's funeral
Amid a sea of blue of the thousands who lined the route, a vintage Selden firetruck carried the slain officer's coffin to the church, escorted by brethren from the Nassau County Police Department's Bureau of Special Operations.
Breitkopf, who was mistakenly shot last Saturday by another officer from a different force, was a member of the Selden Fire Department for 14 years and served in the elite police unit for nearly eight years.
Tears welled in the eyes of some as they talked about their fallen comrade, physically leaning on each other for support.
Another officer nearly fainted before the procession.
Sgt. Steven Murray, who had been Breitkopf's supervisor, called him "a great guy. He was a model cop."
Murray continued: "He's gonna leave a hole in BSO I don't think we will ever fill."
Breitkopf's funeral was the second police service on Long Island on Friday. Hours earlier, NYPD Officer Alain Schaberger's service was in East Islip. Schaberger died in Brooklyn after being shoved over a railing on Sunday.
Almost a week after his death, Breitkopf's family and colleagues -- some from police departments across the country -- filled the pews inside the same Selden church where Breitkopf's two sons were christened years ago.
"It's tough for the troops," Nassau police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey, who had just come from the Schaberger funeral, said before he entered the church for Breitkopf's service.
"They're wrestling three emotions simultaneously: There's certainly grief and compassion for the family, and they're still dealing with anger," Mulvey said.
There were no speeches or eulogies to Breitkopf during the funeral Mass at the St. Margaret of Scotland Roman Catholic Church, a police spokesman said.
Before the service, Breitkopf's widow, Paula, and their young sons Connor, 6, and Owen, 3, had clasped hands as the coffin was carried from nearby Selden fire headquarters, where the wake was held.
Both of the small boys wore black baseball caps emblazoned with the logo of the Bureau of Special Operations, which Breitkopf joined in 2003.
Breitkopf's elder son, Connor, was later led from the church after becoming too upset during the service to stay, a police spokesman said.
Breitkopf, 40, a 12-year veteran of the Nassau force, was accidentally shot to death Saturday night in Massapequa Park by an officer from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. He was the second Nassau officer killed while on duty this year.
Breitkopf, who was in plainclothes and carrying a rifle pointed toward the ground, police said, was shot as he approached a house where other Nassau officers minutes earlier had shot and killed a knife-wielding man.
Bob Putko, a former Nassau officer who is now a deputy sheriff in St. Lucie, Fla., said it was "a terrible tragedy" that Breitkopf had been killed by a fellow officer.
"When you're dealing with interagencies, it becomes a problem right away," he said.
At the end of the Mass, family, friends and colleagues gathered around Breitkopf's grave site at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Coram to bid him farewell.
Under a blue, clear sky, two officers lifted a Nassau County Police Department flag that draped Breitkopf's silver-colored coffin, folded it and gave it to his widow.
The two men, along with hundreds of police officers, saluted.
Posted Saturday, March 19, 2011
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