BLACKSBURG, Va. — Thousands of police officers and sheriff’s deputies from New York to Kentucky came to Virginia Tech’s Cassell Coliseum this afternoon to honor the memory of Deriek Crouse, the first Tech officer killed in the line of duty.
They were joined by hundreds of Tech administrators, faculty, staff and students, soldiers, veterans, Virginia Military Institute and Tech cadets, and Gov. Bob McDonnell, the Roanoke Times reports.
Members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan. announced plans to picket at the funeral on Monday, the Collegiate Times reports.
Officer Crouse’s funeral will began at 2 p.m. at Cassell Coliseum, and WBC members planned to protest for 45 minutes before the funeral service, starting at 1:15 p.m.
Six members of the WBC will be picketing, according to Fred Phelps Jr., son of WBC pastor Fred Phelps Sr. “The law enforcement across this nation has for years refused to do their duty and protect the people,” Phelps Jr. said. “There is a price to be paid when you do that to God.”
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