Tara Godvin, Associated Press
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- A police sergeant killed in the line of duty was eulogized as a hero Tuesday at a funeral service attended by hundreds of officers.
“He laid down his life for all of us,” the Rev. Garry Welsh said of Sgt. Jason Pratt, who was shot by a man who had fled after a traffic stop.
Pratt’s only sibling, Michael, a police officer in Lincoln, said support from the community was overwhelming and showed his brother had one of the largest families in the world.
“More brothers and sisters than could be counted,” Michael Pratt said.
Police and sheriff officers from Omaha, Lincoln, Wahoo, Des Moines, Iowa, and other cities lined up outside the city’s 9,000-seat Civic Auditorium in rows 12 deep on either side of a lane kept open for Pratt’s casket, which was processed solemnly through the city and then into the auditorium.
Pratt, 30, was shot in the head on Sept. 11 and died Friday after eight days in critical condition. The suspect was shot and killed by another officer.
Pratt was the first police officer in Nebraska killed in the line of duty since Omaha officer Jimmy Wilson Jr. was killed in 1995, also during a traffic stop.
Pratt’s death has sparked a tremendous outpouring of support for his wife, Stacy, and their two young daughters, ages 3 years old and eight months old. More than $50,000 was raised at fund-raisers for the family last week, before more than 7,000 were estimated to have attended a fund-raising dinner held Sunday at the Omaha Police Union Hall.