Officers salute Tara O’Sullivan during funeral procession from Sacramento to Elk Grove
Law enforcement officers, first responders and the public paid respects to Sacramento Police Officer Tara O’Sullivan during a procession that took the slain officer’s body from the Sacramento County coroner’s office to an Elk Grove funeral home.
Scores of O’Sullivan’s fellow officers poured in to the small parking lot of Herberger Funeral Home on Elk Grove Boulevard early Friday afternoon, exiting their cruisers and lining up to honor O’Sullivan, who was gunned down while assisting in a domestic violence incident Wednesday in north Sacramento.
An honor guard of six slowly carried O’Sullivan’s casket draped with a pristine American flag out of a white hearse, walking it past saluting Sacramento police officers and into the funeral home, the flag of which was at half staff.
Several small groups of law enforcement families that had gathered to await the procession choked back tears while some carried American flags and “thin blue line” flags. Others tied blue ribbons to nearby street poles.
Many of the officers followed the honor guard into the funeral home, continuing to pay respects to O’Sullivan in private. Some of the other officers briefly embraced loved ones outside the funeral before departing.
O’Sullivan, 26, will lie in rest at the funeral home until her funeral service. Details of O’Sullivan’s service have not been announced, nor have plans for the public to pay their respects to O’Sullivan.
The procession of Sacramento police vehicles escorted by California Highway Patrol motorcycles traveled south on Highway 99 from 12th Avenue to Elk Grove Boulevard.
Ahead of the procession leaving Sacramento shortly before noon, combinations of fire department, Elk Grove police and sheriff’s vehicles set up along almost every overpass along that stretch of Highway 99 with their lights on, awaiting the procession. Firefighters stood atop their trucks and engines, beeping their sirens in response to drivers below who honked in support.
Two fire engines at Mack Road raised their ladders toward each other, hanging a small American flag from atop their reach.
The Sacramento Police Department sent a news release Friday as the procession began asking for journalists to be patient as information is made available because of the “challenging times for us.”
“We continue to be overwhelmed with inquiries and requests related to the tragedy that occurred this week,” the email said. “We lost one of our own and we are committed to honoring her. At the same time, we are receiving a wide variety of emails, phone calls, texts for updates. Please be patient with us.”
This story was originally published June 21, 2019 at 11:56 AM.