PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Hundreds of people — family, friends and officers from across the country — filled the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul Friday for a somber, emotional farewell to a hero: Temple University Police Officer Christopher Fitzgerald, who was fatally shot in the line of duty last weekend.
He was posthumously promoted to sergeant during the funeral, and was remembered as a compassionate, charismatic, and kind father, son and husband.
A motorcade transported Fitzgerald to the cathedral around 8 a.m., and a long line — thousands of people — quickly formed of fellow officers and others wishing to pay their respects to the fallen officer.
Law enforcement community members from Texas, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, and California packed both the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul and Eakins Oval to give a final salute to Fitzgerald.
Mayor Jim Kenney, City Council members, state and federal leaders packed in behind Fitzgerald’s family for the public service, which included words of remembrance from Gov. Josh Shapiro; Fitzgerald’s brother Joel; his uncle, Pastor Juan Marrero; his cousin, state Rep. Amen Brown; and Temple Vice President for Public Safety Jennifer Griffin.
“Chris was the very best of us. He cared about his fellow officers, his neighbors, fellow residents of this great city, and of course, he loved his family. A strong and tough cop with a tender heart,” said Shapiro.
“Everything I saw Chris transition into and what he is now and what he left was what he loved being, was all for his kids,” said his brother.
“He ran track in high school,” said Fitzgerald’s uncle, Bishop Juan Marrero said. He added that when Fitzgerald became a deputy in the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office, he was founding member of the Swagga House Run Club.
“This run club collaborated with Black Man Run Philly,” said Marrero, “who would go hood to hood with the goal of ending gun violence in our great city.”
“We saw this hero’s heart on display during my cousin’s final moments, because in those moments, his thoughts were not for himself but for the safety for the community he served,” said Brown.
“Whether he was responding to a call for help, volunteering in his community, or simply greeting people on the street, he always approached others with kindness and compassion.”
“Sgt. Christopher Fitzgerald’s life, although tragically taken too soon, he still fought the good fight,” said Marrero.
“He still finished the race. He has kept the faith and is now receiving the rewards that are due him.”
All spoke of a need to end the gun violence and hate raging through the city.
A color guard and bagpipes lined the street outside for Fitzgerald’s final trip, as a motorcade followed him to be laid to rest in peace and in private, at Forest Hill Cemetery in Huntington Valley.
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Fitzgerald, 31, was fatally shot near the corner of 17th Street and Montgomery Avenue on Feb. 18. Officials said he was in pursuit of three young males, dressed in all black and masked.
They ran and two of them hid, but Fitzgerald got into a tussle with the third individual, 18-year-old Miles Pfeffer. Pfeffer fired several shots, striking Fitzgerald.
When Fitzgerald was on the ground, police said Pfeffer stood over him, shot him three more times, then picked his pockets and unsuccessfully tried to steal his service weapon.
Officials said Fitzgerald is the first Temple University police officer to be killed in the line of duty. The university said it is paying for the funeral and offering tuition remission for his children, if they decide to attend Temple.
Friday was also his father Joel Fitzgerald’s 31st anniversary of becoming a police officer. He was formerly a Philadelphia police officer and now is chief of police and emergency management with Denver’s Regional Transportation District.