What kind of honor does a police officer of higher rank receive at his funeral? Or in other words, what would traditionally happen? Also, if there was a stint as a military police officer, would that have any change on a funeral?
Sorry I’ve never been to one, so I was just curious.
Well does a stint as a military police officer count as “being in the military”? He’s in law enforcement, a detective for 25 years.
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If he was honorably discharged from the military he is at least eligible for a flag placed on his coffin. Depending on the time of his service he may be eligible for a burial party and a rifle squad. Contact a VA representative to discuss this with someone.
It doesn’t matter what rank the person is if they are in the military the family members will receive a flag that was placed over the coffin. They will get a 21 gun solute, Taps will be played at the funeral, and they will allow family members to decide if they want an open casket before the burial.
For law enforcement, a lot of it depends on the department that they retired from, how far away they live from that department and how they died.
We recently did one for a member who worked at a very large city department. The officer was older, died of an illness and had been retired from that agency for more than 20 years. Out of respect to his service, we posted an honor guard and led the hearse to the church and then to the cemetery with our motor. It was too far for the agency to travel.
If they die on duty from a duty-related injury or illness or was on active duty when they died from a non-related work injury, arrangements could again change with department policy. If they die while serving but off duty or a retiree, there are still some ceremonial things that could be done, but not to the level of an on-duty death.
Basically though, and regardless of how they died, they could be afforded an honor guard at the casket during calling hours, transportation for the family, a procession of officers in cruisers and/or motorcycles, an honor guard at the funeral and a flag presentation to the family.
Usually, if an officer is killed in the line of duty, the ceremonious part is much more elaborate to include things such as a riderless horse, a fly-over by an aviation unit, hundreds if not thousands of officers in uniform marching and people like the Governor, Senators and other dignitaries are present and participate.
Usually, the ceremony is the same, regardless of rank since you are still a police officer.
Military is a different ballgame. There are certain protocols and rank certainly has its privilege. If you have ever been to Arlington and have seen one (and I recommend it highly, it is very moving), different ranks are afforded different ceremonies. If you have ever seen the funeral of a President, they would receive an elaborate ceremony, to include honor guards, military processions, military fly-overs, flags at half staff and many other things since the President is the Commander in Chief. Lower ranks receive less but still get the flag, can be buried in one of the nation’s military cemetaries, taps, etc…
Most importantly though, nothing happens without the families approval and request.