The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- A New Orleans police officer killed in the line of duty was recalled at a ceremony Saturday for acting with “honor, courage and commitment.”
A second Louisiana police funeral, for a Bossier City officer also killed this week, was set for the afternoon.
New Orleans Officer LaToya Nicole Johnson, 27, was eulogized by Mayor Ray Nagin, Police Superintendent Eddie Compass, her commander and her partner at an emotional ceremony in the city’s Theatre for Performing Arts. The hall was packed with police officers, several of whom walked out in tears.
Johnson was fatally shot Monday by a man whom Johnson had tried to retrieve for a psychiatric examination.
Capt. Jeff Winn, her commander, honored Johnson and her partner, Officer Summer Turner, for their actions at the crime scene.
“Latoya acted with honor, courage and commitment. Summer acted with honor, courage and commitment,” Winn said.
Nagin said Johnson’s death was indicative of a spiraling violence in the city’s black neighborhood’s, and called on the public to resist.
“I know a lot of criminals have gotten emboldened. But in memory of LeToya, let’s take our streets back,” he said.
Johnson was the mother of a 10-year-old daughter. Members of her district office organized a fund-raiser for Sunday night at a French Quarter music club to raise money for the girl’s future. Ten musical acts were set to perform, and 10 New Orleans restaurants, including Emeril’s and Commander’s Palace, donated food for the fund-raiser.
Two days after Johnson’s death, Bossier City Officer Trey Hutchison, 27, was shot to death while responding to a disconnected 911 call. Afternoon services were set for Hutchison, who was killed by a man who apparently also shot himself to death.
Hutchison was the first Bossier City officer killed on duty since 1972.
He was married with no children. Before joining the Bossier City police in September, he had been an officer in Lufkin, Texas, since April 1998.