'It's So Very Sad': Community Pays Respect To Officer Gomm
ROSEVILLE, Minn. (WCCO) -- Family, friends and several thousand police and corrections officers escorted Joseph Gomm's casket Thursday the nine miles from church to cemetery.
All along the route down Snelling Avenue to Larpenteur Avenue, citizens lined the streets out of respect.
Jeff Hintz, a firefighter, was one of many who felt the need to mourn the corrections officer killed in the line of duty.
"It's important that we recognize those who've given their lives for all of us," Hintz said.
About 3,000 police and corrections officers, from Minnesota and across the country, took part in or watched the procession that carried Gomm's body.
Gomm died last week at the Stillwater prison where he worked for 16 years. An inmate attacked with him a hammer.
"People always respected law enforcement," mourner Chris Radic said. "And I'm seeing a trend that respect is not happening anymore."
All along the procession route, there were pockets of people, with flags in hand and pain in their hearts.
"It's so sad, so very sad," said a mourner named Sharon. "My heart goes out to the family."
At Roselawn Cemetery, Gomm's casket was carried in by caisson.
Words of committal were followed by a final salute.
Under Gomm's shaded gravesite, family, friends and fellow officers stood in silence and sadness.
Gomm is survived by his mother and several siblings.
Gov. Mark Dayton ordered flags to fly at half-staff Thursday in his honor.
For Donations:
Joseph Gomm Memorial Fund
C/O BMO Harris Bank
1520 109th Ave. NE
Blaine, MN 55449
