Pa. State Trooper Killed in Gun Range Accident is Laid to Rest
By Kim Glovas and Walt Hunter
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Funeral services were under way in Northeast Philadelphia this morning for David Kedra, the Pennsylvania state trooper killed in the line of duty last week when he was shot by a fellow trooper at a firearms training range.
Hundreds of police lined the street outside Christ the King Church, on Chesterfield Road, to pay their respects to Trooper Kedra.
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Then, they filed into the church to visit the casket and pay their respects to the family.
Wearing fallen Trooper Kedra's uniform hat, his young nephew walked down the aisle with his family at Christ the King Church.
The church was filled to overflowing by troopers and officers who came from as far away as Ohio, Alabama and Indiana to mourn the 26-year-old who was accidentally shot to death by a fellow officer during a training session at the Montgomery County Firing Range last Tuesday.
Morrisville (Bucks County), Pa. police chief George McClay says police officers from everywhere are paying their respects because they all understand the dangers of their work.
" 'Cause this could happen to anybody, any time, this is something that goes back years -- it's tradition," he said. "We have to be there for each other, good times and bad times."
Kedra's family, including his dad, mom, brothers, sister and fiancee listened as fellow troopers praised Kedra for his dedication and caring. The trooper's brother telling mourners, in his eulogy, that his brother was now protecting "the gates of heaven."
Mary Shevlin, David Kedra's aunt, says the family is heartbroken.
"Nice boy, lived a very good outdoor life," she said. "He was a very, very nice boy. Mother's really upset, you know, the way it happened -- it's very sad."
The sadness of the funeral service was deepened by the fact that Kedra is the second trooper to die in the line of duty in less than a month.
As the 90 minute service concluded, there was a volley of rifle fire honoring the trooper, followed by "Taps", and a State Police Helicopter in a low-altitude flyover, saluting Kedra.
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