Detroit Free Press
SAGINAW TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- Unlike Friday’s memorial service in Detroit, which drew city and state officials, the funeral Saturday for slain Detroit police officer Jennifer Fettig was absent the political calls for justice.
Friends and fellow officers spoke about Fettig as a lost friend and family member, not a symbol of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. She and her partner, Matt Bowens, were fatally shot last week in Detroit following an early morning traffic stop. Prosecutors have charged 23-year-old Eric L. Marshall in the killings.
Still, officers from law enforcement departments across Saginaw, Midland and Bay Counties attended the service. In addition, nearly 100 Detroit police officers arrived for the afternoon service.
“The officers did some very nice sharing of stories,” but there were no political overtones, the Rev. Robert DeLand of S.S. Peter & Paul Catholic Church, told The Saginaw News for a Sunday story.
Mourners recalled the proud officer from Detroit’s 4th Precinct.
“She was a hero,” said her uncle, Joseph P. “Pat” Fettig, before Saturday’s memorial. “She died doing what she loved.”
At the burial, a white-helmeted Detroit Police Department honor guard fired three volleys before she was interred.