GRAND PRAIRIE (1080 KRLD) - A public funeral is scheduled Thursday for the Grand Prairie police officer who was hit by a car last week on Bush Turnpike.
Officer AJ Castaneda, 38, was running radar last Friday when a car lost control and hit him as he was standing outside his patrol car along the shoulder.
A memorial has been growing outside Grand Prairie Police headquarters, where a squad car is parked in front. People have been leaving cards, candles and flowers.
"I live in Haslet, but I came to Grand Prairie. I was in the area and had been wanting to come out here all week, so I'm here. I'm glad to be here," one woman said as she looked at the memorial.
Grand Prairie police have been setting up patches at the memorial sent from departments across the country.
"It's a tight-knit community with a lot of support that comes from all over the country, all over the world, even," says one retired officer who stopped at the memorial Wednesday. "That's part of the brotherhood and sisterhood in law enforcement. It's like the military or firefighters. There's a bond there. Everybody shares in the good and the bad and the tragedies that come along with the job."
The organization, backthebluehq.com, had been selling t-shirts at the memorial and will continue selling them online. The group says 100% of proceeds will go to Castaneda's family.
"It's not something they plan for, they go out every day to do their job. They don't wake up and go, 'Is today the day I don't make it home?'" says Sherri Aaron, the wife of Mansfield Police Chief Tracy Aaron and the founder of Back the Blue HQ. "I know the families have that in their mind, but the officers don't. They know what their job is, and they don't think about that kind of stuff."
The public is invited to line the streets during the Castaneda's funeral procession. It will start at 8:30 Thursday at Grand Prairie Police headquarters, go north on the 161 service road and head east on Pioneer Parkway, which turns into Kiest after crossing Mountain Creek Lake.
The procession will stop at Potter's House church at 6777 W. Kiest Blvd. Castaneda's funeral begins at 11 a.m. and is open to the public.
The Texas Department of Public Safety has been investigating the crash. The driver of the car that hit Castaneda has not been charged.