Thousands mourn slain HPD officer at funeral
Thousands mourn slain HPD officer at funeral
06:18 PM CDT on Wednesday, September 27, 2006
From 11 News Staff Reports
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Thousands of mourners packed a southeast Houston church Wednesday morning to honor HPD Officer Rodney Johnson.
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The 40-year-old HPD veteran was gunned down Thursday in the line of duty.
Fellow officers rotated shifts throughout the night and into Wednesday morning to stand beside the fallen officer's casket.
"He loved what he did," said HPD Chief Harold Hurtt. "Rodney loved his family, they loved him and we loved Rodney."
Thousands of law enforcement officers from agencies in Houston and around the state streamed into Grace Community Church.
"Thank you for protecting us," a tearful Desiree Osborne told many passing officers, hugging some of them.
She didn't know Officer Johnson. She just wanted to show her appreciation to those he left behind.
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"He must have been a special person to have everybody like this show up," she said.
The funeral began with a musical video showing photos of the officer with his wife, children, friends and co-workers.
The sanctuary was filled with a sea of blue -- thousands of officers in uniform, black tape covering their badges in memory of Johnson.
The southeast Houston church holds 4,000 but so many came that some had to be turned away.
"I'm gonna miss him, but I know he's with me every day," Susan Johnson, one of the officer's sisters, told the mourners. "I can't say enough about him. I wouldn't even know where to start and end."
She told Johnson's five children to take the support and love of the packed church with them to help carry them through the ordeal of losing their father.
"If you take anything from here today -- know that he was a great man, a great brother, a great father, a great son," she said. "He was big, had a big soul, a big heart."
A family friend read moving letters from Johnson's mother and children.
Then HPD Officer Selvin Ellis brought laughter with stories of Johnson's sense of humor. He met Johnson when they were small boys who lived on the same street.
"Most of you knew that Rodney was a probably one of the biggest jokesters that you could ever meet," he said. "And I could even hear him saying, 'Hey, I got some of you in church today and it's not even Easter or Christmas.'"
Ellis told the story of a barbecue he attended with Johnson and his "motorcycle gang."
"This was on Dixie Drive at the Dixie drive-in with Dixie flags flying about," laughed Ellis.
Ellis said he told Johnson a lot of the motorcycle club members looked like "good old boys" and maybe he should find himself another one.
"He told me "Don't worry about it, I got this covered. I'm not only in the gang but I'm their treasurer,'" remembered Ellis. "So he had all of their money."
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As the black hearse carrying the slain officer drove along I-45 to the cemetery, hundreds lined the freeway to pay their respects.
Signs of support were very visible.
Houston Firefighters parked their trucks along the interstate stood together at attention, saluting the hearse as it drove past them.
They were not the only ones.
Houstonians from all walks of life turned out to say goodbye in their own way.
Some saluted, others waved or just watched quietly.
Along the Fuqua overpass, a group joined hands as the slowly moving motorcade made its way to it’s final destination 30 miles away, Earthman Resthaven Cemetery.
A lone group of three Houstonians stand tall along I-45 and held up an American flag while saluting Johnson’s hearse and the succession of vehicles that followed.
Johnson was born in Houston, but graduated from high school in Oakland, California. He spent six years in the military and became a police officer in 1994.
Wife Joclyn, who is also an HPD officer, met her husband in the academy.
They married on Valentine’s Day in 2000 and renewed their vows on her birthday last year.
“He was so much fun,” she told 11 News last week. “He was so funny. He used to make me laugh. That’s what I loved about him the most. He made me laugh all the time.”
His fellow officers said that as an officer, he was a committed leader. As friend, they said, he was just as loyal.
“Every person in blue is shedding tears today because Rodney was one special guy,” said Lonnie Truman, his best friend.
In addition to his immediate family, Johnson is survived by his mom, a brother and two sisters.
The man accused of Officer Johnson's capital murder, Juan Leonardo Quintero, remains in jail without bond.
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