Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer Brent Thompson was one of five officers killed during the mass shooting on July 7th. His memorial service was held Wednesday with 3,000 in attendance. The Dallas Morning News describes the scene:

Hundreds of police officers, state troopers and sheriff’s deputies attended, including some from Washington state; Miami Beach, Fla.; Prince George’s County, Md.; San Diego; Tucson, Ariz.; and Loveland, Colo.

Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins and wounded DART Officer Misty McBride, with her arm in a sling, also attended.

A honor guard carried his casket outside of the church and hundreds of officers saluted him. A bugler played “Taps” and a helicopter roared during a flyover. A private funeral was held on Wednesday afternoon in Corsicana. Thompson was buried in a cemetery on his family’s farm.

Thompson’s widow and fellow officer, Emily Thompson, spoke to the assembled crowd. “It took some time to process everything and try to understand why,” Emily told the mourners adding, “I can’t.” “Brent was there for whoever needed him, whenever they needed him. Didn’t matter who it was or what they needed him for,” she continued. She concluded with a message about her husband’s killer, “To the coward that tried to break me and my brothers and sisters…know you’re hate made us stronger.” Brent and Emily were married just two weeks before he was killed.

The message delivered by one of Officer Thompson’s six children was heartbreaking. As her brothers and sisters stood around her at the podium weeping, one of the Thompson daughters said, “One thing I would always say to my dad when he walked out the door was ‘Goodbye, Daddy. I love you. Be safe.’ And tonight we say our final ‘Goodbye Daddy. We love you. Be safe.'”