MEMPHIS, Tenn. –It was an emotional day as friends and family gathered to say goodbye to fallen officer Verdell Smith.
“It’s hard but I want you all to know God’s time is perfect and my daddy did everything he was supposed to before God took him away,” said Smith’s daughter crying.
A daughter and a son forced to say goodbye to the man they called “Dad” way too soon.
“I’ll never forget the day I walked out of my graduation ceremony and I saw him standing there waiting on me. And I walked up to him and gave him the biggest hug I could,” Smith’s son told the crowd.
Officer Smith’s children are now without their father, but Memphis Police Officers made them a promise.
“Your hurt is our hurt. We will never let you walk alone,” said Interim Director Mike Rallings.
Hope Presbyterian Church in Cordova was filled with family, friends who loved him and with members of the community who care.
Officer Smith didn’t just enforce the law.
He mentored children and even worked with ex-convicts to steer them on a better path.
He was the kind of man Memphis really needs.
After the service, a brigade of motorcycles followed by sirens filled the streets as they escorted their comrade to the cemetery on Poplar Avenue.
People from all walks of life stood on street corners, watching the procession and saying thank you to a man who did so much for his city.
The processional delivered Officer Smith to the Memorial Park.
Taps were played and Smith’s son and daughter looked to the heavens as they released doves into the sky.