Philadelphia says goodbye with honor: Ofc. Moses Walker Jr. is laid to rest
2nd suspect in officer killing in custody in Pa.
ABOVE PHOTO by Issac Carlton
associated press/CBS news
It was a solemn procession last Sunday afternoon, as slain Officer Moses Walker's casket was carried on a horse-drawn caisson to the North Philadelphia church where his viewing was to be held.
People lined Lehigh Avenue in somber silence, watching as the horse-drawn caisson made its way by. At the head of the column, Mayor Michael Nutter and Commissioner Charles Ramsey.
Ramsey called it a painful day for the police family.
"You come to see how people grieve. You see the loss. You see the void that's left behind," Ramsey said. "And we're not immune from that. And it's times like this that it comes to the surface."
Police commanders and Walker's colleagues from the 22nd District followed in the procession to the Deliverance Evangelistic Church for his viewing.
People from the community were also there to pay their respects and to show their support to a department in mourning again.
The officer is already home," said Eddie Ives. "So this is just like the formalities, I guess you would call it. But it's great, a great outpouring from the community and, of course, the police department.
I'm just so proud of Philadelphia, how they turned out," said Dorothy Jackson, a family friend. "It makes you cry almost." A man charged in the fatal shooting of an off-duty police officer is back in Philadelphia to face charges after surrendering to federal agents in Alabama.
Chancier McFarland was flown back to Philadelphia on Monday, the same day Officer Moses Walker Jr. was buried.
PHOTO: Chancier McFarland (L) and Rafael Jones (R).
Investigators say the 19-year-old McFarland and 23-year-old Rafael Jones are responsible for the Aug. 18 robbery that left Walker dead. Walker was heading home in street clothes after his shift when police say Jones and McFarland approached him and announced a robbery.
Police say Walker drew his weapon before he was shot three times.
Jones was charged last week after lengthy interviews with police. McFarland turned himself in to the FBI in Montgomery, Ala., on Sunday.
Court records don't list attorneys for either man.
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