Associated Press
ST. LOUIS — Mourners packed a St. Louis cathedral Monday to mourn a Missouri police officer who was shot to death, after the family of the man charged in his killing issued a public apology.
Pallbearers carried North County Police Cooperative Officer Michael Langsdorf’s casket into the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, past hundreds of police officers lined up outside in a final salute. Inside, Langsdorf’s teenage children described their father as caring, sensitive and dedicated, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
“He taught me that a life of rescuing, defending and serving is the only life worth living,” his 18-year-old son, Kaleb Langsdorf, told the crowd that filled the 1,750-occupancy cathedral to capacity. “We love you Dad.”
The 40-year-old officer was fatally shot June 23 while answering a bad check call at a market in the St. Louis County town of Wellston. Bonette Kymbrelle Meeks, 26, is jailed without bond on charges of first-degree murder and three other felonies.
In a statement, his relatives offered their “deepest sympathy” to Langsdorf’s family. Meeks’ father, Bonette Meeks Sr., told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the family is “devastated” and wishes it could “take back that day.”
On the 7-mile route to the cemetery, the funeral procession passed supporters holding American flags and signs. Blue ribbons were wrapped around street posts and trees.
Karla Moxley, of St. Louis, took a vacation day from her job at a dentist’s office. Her sons, Karson, 14, and Kaden, 12, held small American flags. Moxley said when news of Langsford’s death broke, Karson recognized him from a school DARE substance abuse education and prevention class.
“It really moved me,” Moxley said. “They sacrifice so much. I knew we had to be here.”
Langsdorf had worked for the North County Police Cooperative for three months, after working 17 years with the St. Louis Police Department. In addition to his children, he is survived by a fiancée and his parents.