Getzville, N.Y. (WBEN) - It was a celebration of life on Wednesday afternoon at the funeral of retired Buffalo Police Officer Aaron Salter at The Chapel's CrossPoint campus in Getzville.
A number of family members and former colleagues of the Buffalo Police Department were in attendance to pay respect and say their final goodbyes to Salter, who was one of 10 victims in the mass shooting at the Tops Friendly Market on Jefferson Avenue on May 14.
Salter was working as a security guard at the supermarket that fateful Saturday when an 18-year-old gunman carried out his racially motivated attack on Buffalo's East Side community. The 55-year-old was able to exchange gunfire with the shooter, but the rounds fired made no impact on the gunman with him wearing tactical body armor during the shooting.
Despite being one of 10 people to lose their lives during the shooting, Salter's actions helped save the lives of more people that day.
"The word hero can be used, along with bravery and honor, in many instances," said Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia during Salter's funeral service. "As when someone distinguishes themselves by performing an extraordinary act of bravery, while consciously disregarding actual and serious, imminent danger to their own life."
Because of Salter's actions during that day, the Buffalo Police Department recognized Salter by posthumously awarding him its highest honor, the Medal of Honor.
"Kimberly and the Salter family, it is my profound honor and duty to posthumously award Officer Aaron Salter with the Medal of Honor for his sheer bravery, and taking on the face of evil in order to save lives. Aaron saved lives," Gramaglia said. "Officer Salter also showed true leadership by taking charge during this horrific incident that got people to safety. It is that take charge type of action that set him apart on May 14, 2022, which was a demonstration of leadership."
Gramaglia also had the distinguished honor to posthumously promote Salter to the rank of Lieutenant.
"Lt. Aaron Salter will always be remembered as a loving husband, father, friend and now Lieutenant, who showed true bravery in the face of evil. God bless all 10 families and the three surviving victims of this senseless act of gun violence, and God bless the Uvalde, Texas community."
In addition, the Buffalo Police Department paid tribute to Lt. Salter by giving him a full line of duty death honors.
Salter was recognized not only for his service to the community as a former Buffalo Police Officer, but also as a loving father, family member and friend to those close to him.
Also in honor of Salter, a special scholarship has been set up that will be awarded annually to a senior at Hutchinson Technical (Hutch Tech) High School, where he graduated in 1984.
Salter leaves behind his wife of 33 years, Kimberly, as well as his three children - daughters Latisha, Tanya and son Aaron Salter III.
He will be entombed at Forest Lawn Cemetery.
Salter and Young were among the 10 Black people killed when a white gunman with a helmet-mounted camera targeted shoppers and workers at Tops Friendly Market, in a predominantly Black neighborhood on a Saturday afternoon. Three others were injured in the attack, which federal authorities are investigating as a hate crime.
The 18-year-old suspect, Payton Gendron, of Conklin, has been charged with murder and is being held without bail.
Gendron was in a Buffalo City courtroom with his attorneys Wednesday to ask a judge to bar Erie County prosecutors from commenting about the case to avoid influencing potential jurors. The judge did not immediately rule but told attorneys to refrain from speaking publicly until prosecutors and defense lawyers meet to discuss guidelines going forward, The Buffalo News reported.
Salter, 55, of Lockport, was working as a security guard at the store in his retirement, a natural move for the community-minded officer with a loud laugh that "would shock your senses" and who chewed bubble gum just as loudly, said retired Deputy Police Commissioner Kimberly Beaty, who worked with Salter.
"Aaron didn't come to work to be entertainment, he came to do his job," Beaty said, "but we enjoyed watching him do it."
Salter retired from the department in 2018 after nearly 30 years. At least one of his bullets struck the suspect's armor-plated vest but didn't pierce it, police said.
Mourners remembered Young as a God-fearing woman and cherished friend. She was a longtime volunteer in her church's soup kitchen and worked as a substitute teacher in Buffalo Public Schools.
"Her name is beautiful, just like a beautiful pearl," Young's oldest sister, Mary Craig of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, said during the service held at Elim Christian Fellowship in Buffalo.
She used these adjectives to describe her late sister: precious, exuberant, adorable, righteous and loving. The first letter of each spells out the name Pearl.
Acting Superintendent Tonja Williams read a letter of condolence to mourners, remembering Young as a long-term, "very active" substitute teacher. The students affectionately called her "Miss Pearl," Williams said.
"She was excited to return to the classroom and enjoyed working with the high school students. Pearl was a hard worker and dedicated to the students she served," Williams said, reading from the letter.
Sister-in-law Gloria Anderson told mourners that Young took ministering to nonbelievers seriously. "Everywhere Pearl went she told somebody about Jesus," Anderson said.
Young and Anderson attended a prayer breakfast together the day of the supermarket shooting. Anderson said they felt a "spiritual high" that morning.
"It was one of the most glorious times that I've had in a long time," she said.
After the breakfast, Young asked Anderson to drop her off at Tops Friendly Market so she could pick up a few things. Anderson said she believes just a few minutes passed, after she pulled away to drive home, before the gunman opened fire. Anderson said she felt survivor's guilt but has leaned on her faith to cope.
"I'm going to sorely miss her, but I know that one day, Pearl and Gloria are going to be back together again," Anderson said.
Funerals had been held for barely a few of the Buffalo victims, before yet another mass shooting grabbed headlines. Authorities in Texas say Salvador Ramos, 18, attacked Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on Tuesday, opening fire with an AR-15-style rifle. Nineteen students and two teachers were killed. Police killed Ramos.
In Buffalo, a funeral for 62-year-old Geraldine Talley is scheduled for Friday. Ruth Whitfield, 86, will be laid to rest Saturday. The Rev. Al Sharpton is scheduled to deliver those eulogies.
"It's one thing to experience personal grief," said Salter's childhood friend, Rodney Cunningham, "and quite another to experience personal grief that is part of a national culture war that, to be candid, has been going on for years with no end in sight."
