LAKEWOOD, Colo.—Police officers from across Colorado were among more than 2,000 people who gathered Thursday to honor a Lakewood police officer who was mistakenly shot and killed by a fellow officer.
The Denver Post () reported that eulogies at the funeral of James Davies, 35, drew both laughter and tears from those gathered at Denver First Church of the Nazarene in Englewood.
Davies was in a backyard investigating reports of gunfire and was in full uniform when another officer behind a fence shot him early on Nov. 9. He’s the first officer to be killed in the 43-year history of the Lakewood Police Department.
“There will be lessons learned from this,” Chief Kevin Paletta said during the service. “We will relay those lessons to other law enforcement agencies so hopefully no other family, no department, no community will have to suffer a similar tragedy.”
Davies is survived by his wife, Tamara, and two children, ages 6 and 2.
Davies grew up in England and met his future wife while she was there on a study-abroad program. He followed her back to the United States and worked at a bank until a robbery got him interested in law enforcement.
After the funeral, mourners made a procession from the church to the Jefferson County fairgrounds. The ladders of two fire trucks held a large flag suspended along the route.
