A Rockford police officer who died in the line of duty was laid to rest on Saturday as fellow law enforcement officials and family members paid their respects.
30-year-old Jaimie Cox was killed during a traffic stop last week. Cox, who had been on the force for less than a year, died of blunt force trauma when he was found entangled in a pickup truck that crashed into a tree.
The driver of that pickup truck, 49-year-old Eddie Patterson, was found with multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead.
On Saturday, police officers paid their respects to a man who would have celebrated his one-year anniversary as an officer next month.
“We’re all one big extended family, and we’re here to support each other,” one of Cox’s fellow officers said.
Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara and Police Chief Dan O’Shea both spoke at the funeral, and countless officers and vehicles participated in a touching motorcade as Cox’s casket was taken to a local cemetery for burial.
“It reminds us of the sacrifice that men and women in law enforcement put forward every time that they come in,” an officer said after the service.
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Rockford police are still investigating the case, according to authorities, and Cox’s death has been ruled a homicide.
