Thousands gather to say goodbye to slain Coeur d’Alene police sergeant

On a sunny day with so many flags flying it looked liked the Fourth of July, thousands gathered in Coeur d’Alene to remember the life and service of Sgt. Greg Moore, the city police officer shot and killed Tuesday while on duty. Officers and emergency responders from all over the Northwest and as far Los Angeles and Chicago packed the gymnasium at Lake City High School for Moore’s two-hour memorial service today. Afterward, they followed his body to the cemetery in a caravan that stretched for miles through the city, as thousands of residents lined the route to pay their respects. “In the midst of this difficult tragedy it has been amazing to see this community respond with such beauty and kindness and dignity,” said Pastor Rodney Wright of Lake City Community Church. Wright, who counted Moore as a friend, also said, “It hurts, it hurts, it hurts.” “Real men cry,” Wright said, telling the officers assembled, “I want to give you permission to cry and to share your grief, because when you do that you are expressing your love for a good friend.” Many of those in uniform did weep during the service, which blended the customs of a full-honors funeral with the recollections from family and friends of Moore’s wit, deeply held belief in community service and devotion to his wife and two children. Wright shared some words that Moore’s 12-year-old son, Dylon, wrote this week about his father: “My dad was the best. He would tell me anything and he was always there for me.” Dylon, who scored a goal and had an assist in a soccer game this morning, sat close to his mother, Jennifer Brumley, Moore’s former wife. Moore remarried two years ago, and he and wife Lindy had a baby girl, Gemma, born 13 months ago. Police Chief Lee White sat next to Lindy Moore and placed a comforting arm around her for much of today’s service. Addressing those gathered, White grew emotional talking about the impact of the loss. “Whenever I look at Lindy or think of Dylon and Gemma,” he said, pausing to wipe his eyes, “the stark reality of the loss hits me. I was able to go home to my family on Tuesday night, hug my children, kiss my wife. I realize that Dylon and Gemma and Lindy will not be able to do that for Greg.” As mourners arrived for the service, 100 Patriot Guard Riders stood silently in front of the school, each holding an American flag that flapped in the breeze. Idaho Ride Captain Kimi Coles said the organization was there to show respect for “a fallen hero.” “We’re all family,” Coles said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re civilian, police or veteran. We all kind of intertwine.” The line of law enforcement and community members snaked through the parking lot as people waited to get inside. Sean Cherry stood with his son, Avrey, and watched the preparations. Both were wearing baseball uniforms. Cherry, who coaches his son’s Little League team, said the league cancelled today’s games out of respect for Moore. “I didn’t know the officer, but that doesn’t mean I can’t honor his service,” he said. Moore, the first Coeur d’Alene police officer killed in the line of duty, died Tuesday evening after he was shot in the head early that morning on patrol in a residential neighborhood on the city’s northwest side. He had stopped to check on a man walking down a dark street, and the man allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot Moore, then stole his patrol car and fled. Police soon arrested Jonathan Daniel Renfro, a 26-year-old felon on parole, after a brief chase and manhunt in Post Falls. Investigators say Moore’s body camera captured the confrontation. Renfro is being held on $2 million bond and faces a first-degree murder charge. It would have been easy for Moore to drive on past that night, Schmitz said. The decision to do what was hard – to stop and investigate – cost him his life, he said. Chief White added that Moore was a leader and supervisor in the department. “He was not satisfied sitting at a desk,” he said. “In the end, and the reason that we are here today, is that he personified the oath that we take when we raise our hands and are sworn in.” One of Moore’s many friends who spoke at the service was Dan Eckles of Sparks, Nevada. “He had a freakin’ huge personality,” Eckles said. “I look at this turnout today and it’s evidence of that.” “Everywhere you looked that man had friends,” he added. Coeur d’Alene Police Det. Johann Schmitz, another close friend, said Moore embraced the hard part of service. “He never took his oath to this community lightly,” Schmitz said. The service was seen by thousands in overflow rooms at the high school, at the church across the street, at the city library and on the North Idaho College campus, plus on live television and Web broadcasts. About 150 people watched on large screens at Lake City Community Church. They listened as one of Moore’s friends, Shawn Shugars of Walla Walla, spoke about their tradition of loudly shouting “Whooo” during regular “mancations” they and other friends regularly took. Shugars encouraged the crowd in the high school gym to shout “Whooo” with him, and hundreds raised their voices in tribute. The service included an honor guard of scores of officers from agencies around the region, as well as a bells ceremony during which members of the guard knelt before Moore’s flag-draped casket. Firefighters from Coeur d’Alene and Spokane County joined Seattle police officers to form a pipes and drums band, which closed the service with a stirring rendition of “Amazing Grace.” Carol Jarvelin, who watched from the church, said she knows members of Moore’s family and once taught school with his wife, a third grade teacher at Ramsey Magnet School of Science. “I thought it was beautiful,” she said of the service. Afterward, people lined the streets from the high school all the way to downtown Coeur d’Alene – a distance of 4 miles – as hundreds of police, firefighters, medics and other responders followed the hearse and family members to Moore’s final resting place at Forest Cemetery for a private ceremony. Many onlookers waved flags. One woman held a sign that said, “Rest easy Sgt. Moore.” Julie Bailey said she was proud to see the massive turnout. “It’s amazing, the outpouring from the community,” Bailey said. “You realize how close to home it can hit.” The procession underscored how the killing of a police officer reverberates far and wide. Delegations came from every corner of Idaho and Washington, and from Montana and Oregon, including state police, sheriff’s department, tribal police, college campus police, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Forest Service, state corrections, rural fire departments, ambulance crews, and motorcycle clubs made up of current and former law enforcement. A group of Canadian Mounties from Trail, Nelson and Castlegar, B.C., were there as well, as were officers who flew in from the Chicago and Los Angeles police departments. Many of the vehicles displayed “K27” stickers in salute to Moore’s call number. Likewise, White concluded his remarks saying, “K27, rest in peace my friend.”