Funeral being held Wednesday for Cortez police officer Michael Moran killed in Colorado shootout

Flags will be at half-staff across Colorado on Wednesday, the day of the funeral for Sgt. Michael Moran. Moran was a police office with the Cortez Police Department and was killed last week in a shootout.

It's rare that small Colorado towns have to have funerals and funeral processions for law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Wednesday's procession will start at 8:20 a.m. and move down Main Street. It's okay for the public to line the street for the procession but the funeral itself will be private. People can line up on Main between Chestnut Street and Harrison Street. The funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the rec center in town and -- once again -- it is an invite-only memorial service.

People will be able to watch a live stream of the funeral. The link to that live video will be available through the Cortez Police Department Facebook page.

"The support from the community has been moving, to say the least," a representative from the Cortez police wrote in a statement. "Your care and concern have helped provide a much-needed foundation for the days and weeks to come and there are no words to express our gratitude. While the funeral is a private event, we invite the public to help honor Sergeant Moran and support his family along with Cortez Police Officers and staff during the procession."

Monetary donations to Sergeant Moran's family may be made through the Colorado Fallen Hero Foundation. Visit coloradogives.org if you are interested in making a donation.

Moran was shot and killed on Nov. 29 in the midst of conducting a traffic stop. Other officers then fatally shot the 44-year-old who shot Moran.

Before becoming a police officer in Cortez he served as a Marine for 9 years and served overseas two different times in Iraq. He joined the police force in Cortez in 2012 and in 2016 he became a K-9 handler.

"He was most proud of his canine partner Otto who served by his side until retiring in 2020," wrote the authors of the entry about Moran on the Colorado Fallen Hero Foundation fundraising website.

Gov. Jared Polis announced on Tuesday that flags should be lowered to half-staff on Wednesday "from sunrise to sunset on all public buildings statewide" in honor of Moran's service.