By WILLIAM KATES
The Associated Press
UTICA, N.Y. - More than 1,000 family, friends and fellow officers paid a final tribute Wednesday to slain Utica Police Officer Thomas Lindsey, who was remembered as “the kind of man that makes you proud to be a cop.”
Mourners packed The Church of Our Lady of Lourdes to give a hero’s farewell to the 32-year-old Lindsey, who was shot to death Thursday during a traffic stop. His killer remains unidentified and at large.
Utica Police Chief C. Allen Pylman told several stories about Lindsey, a former Marine who served nearly six years as a policeman in his hometown. Pylman said everyone he spoke with about Lindsey remembered the officer’s smile and generosity.
“He was the kind of officer, the kind of man that makes you proud to be a cop,” said Pylman, who spoke on the family’s behalf.
“Tom Lindsey was the kind of kid you would want your daughter to marry, to be your neighbor, to defend your country, to be your buddy,” Pylman said.
Pylman said his impact as a policeman was “immeasurable.”
“We have suffered a terrible loss,” Pylman said.
Among the anecdotes Pylman shared were stories about Lindsey’s time in the Marines and at police academy, and how his co-workers once burned his Boston Red Sox baseball cap.
“He was a master of teasing. His wit put life in proper perspective,” Pylman said. “It’s so sad that we don’t realize what we have until it’s gone.”
Police Chaplain Rev. Joe Salerno called Lindsey a “Christlike figure,” who gave his life protecting the community he loved.
Salerno, too, shared stories about Lindsey, including how he would let his girlfriend’s 4-year-old daughter draw letters on his face while it was covered with shaving cream.
One of Lindsey’s favorite expressions was, “It’s not that bad. It could always be worse,” Salerno told the grieving gathering.
“But now we do not understand how it could be any worse,” the chaplain said.
He also spoke about Lindsey’s ever-present smile.
“Everyone I spoke with remembered that smile _ that smile that not even death can wipe away,” Salerno said.
Bishop James Moynihan called Lindsey a martyr.
“He was generous as martyrs are generous ... so much so that he gave his life for others,” Moynihan said.
“We know that God is never outdone in generosity. Our prayer today is that God will be very good to Thomas Lindsey for being so good to us,” the bishop said.
The funeral service began with a procession down one of Utica’s main boulevards, which had been decorated with flags along the parade route. Drummers beat out a slow cadence as the procession approached the church.
Hundreds of police officers from throughout New York and from surrounding states stood at attention and snapped a salute when Lindsey’s flag-draped coffin was removed from the hearse in front of the church. All wore black tape across their badges.
Two Marines stood at attention at the church entrance.
Inside, other mourners wore pins with Lindsey’s photograph and badge number. A table on the altar was covered with a blue apron that bore the words: Our Hero. Thomas M. Lindsey. UPD. USMC.
It took nearly 30 minutes for the cadre of police to file in pairs past Lindsey’s coffin. The dead officer’s parents, two sisters and brother sat nearby.
Lindsey joined the Marines when he was 18. His stint in the Marines brought him to South Korea and Australia. When he came home from overseas service, he attended and graduated from Mohawk Valley Community College.
Lindsey was honored several times by the Utica Police Department.
He was buried at Calvary Cemetery with full military honors.
Lindsey was the second local policeman killed in the line of duty over the past 14 months. New Hartford Police Officer Joseph Corr was shot to death following a jewelry store robbery in February 2005. His killer, Tousaint Davis, was scheduled to be sentenced Thursday in Oneida County Court.