Funeral For Fallen Detroit Cop, 'He Did His Job ... He Did It 100 Percent'
DETROIT (WWJ) - Hearts were heavy in Detroit as family and friends gathered to say goodbye to a police officer who was killed in the line of duty.
Patrick Hill's funeral took place Monday morning at Greater Grace Temple.
Hill's partner and friend, Officer Jacob Lisko, said Hill's wife requested that those attending not wear black so as to celebrate Hill's life.
"It really hurt me to lose a friend like this; something like this has never happened to me," Lisko told WWJ's Ron Dewey. "But to be the same age and ... he has a family with small kids and I have a family with small kids — it really crushed me.
"But [Hill's widow] has been very supportive and said, 'Hey, it's not his death ... We wanna celebrate his life; we wanna celebrate who Patrick was.'"
Hill was shot in April during a confrontation with a murder suspect and died last week from his injuries.
The 37-year-old — who was also a former walk-on football player at the University of Michigan — was part of a federal, state and local anti-crime task force that located Matthew Joseph, a suspect in a March homicide.
Police say Joseph opened fire on officers on April 2, and they returned fire, killing him. Sgt. Jeffrey Pacholski was wounded but recovered.
Lisko said he'll remember how Hill relished his role as a cop.
"When he took this job with this task force, I could see it in his eyes," Lisko said.
"I assisted him on a raid one day, one night, and he was in charge of it. I could just see how much he loved it and how much he was into it," he said. "He did his job; he did it the best that he could; he did it 100 percent."
Hill is survived by four children.
