Mourners pay their respects to slain Baltimore detective

By Jessica Anderson
The Baltimore Sun

BALTIMORE — A line of mourners waiting to pay their respects to Baltimore police Detective Sean Suiter wrapped around a room at a Randallstown funeral home Monday afternoon.

Under a screen flashing pictures of Suiter and his family at outings, beach trips and home parties, mourners paused by the open casket where Suiter’s body was dressed in a dark suit and tie, and white gloves.

Suiter was shot with his own gun in a vacant lot next to 959 Bennett Place in Harlem Park on Nov. 15. He died the next day at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center. Police said Suiter and his partner were in the neighborhood investigating a triple homicide when they observed a suspicious person and went to investigate.

Police continue to investigate the shooting. They have yet to identify a suspect.

Some mourners on Monday stopped to hug family members seated in the front row, others shook their hands or simply nodded. Two uniformed Baltimore County police officers stopped before reaching the casket to put their hats on before saluting the officer.

One man, before he exited the room, said “ sad, sad, sad.”

Outside the funeral home sat an ambulance draped in black bunting.

Steward Nash, 74, said he did not know Suiter but he read about the officer’s death through the local news and wanted to pay his respects.

“I want to thank his family for keeping us all safe. Without our officers, what kind of state would we have?”

A group of Maryland Transportation Authority Police were among officers from various agencies who came to pay their respects. Among them was Officer Gary Williams who said “when an officer is killed in the line of duty, we think about our own families, his family.”

Jerome Dukes, a substitute teacher in Baltimore County, said he didn’t know Suiter but he knew Harlem Park, because he spent part of his childhood there.

“It’s just not like it used to be,” said Dukes, who now lives in Northwest Baltimore. “It’s like life doesn’t mean anything anymore. It’s just sad.”

A second viewing is scheduled from 3 to 8 p.m. at the Vaughn Greene Funeral home 8728 Liberty Road in Randallstown.

A funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Mount Pleasant Church at 6000 Radecke Avenue along the eastern city and county line, followed by a procession to Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens in Timonium.

©2017 The Baltimore Sun