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WEST VALLEY CITY — Hundreds of police officers and sheriff's deputies attended Sgt. Derek Johnson's funeral Friday, and although many didn't know him, they still consider him their brother.
The brotherhood and sisterhood of law enforcement officers is a strong one, and whenever one of them loses their life on duty, there is a large amount of support.
Four different law enforcement agencies present at Johnson's funeral said that they had also lost an officer in the past few years. They say the high level of camaraderie is what helps get them through the loss.
Sgt. Matt O'Brien with the Sevier County sheriff's office said he knows first-hand what the brotherhood is all about. He experienced a large amount of support after his colleague, Sgt. Franco Aguilar, was killed in the line of duty three years ago.
"It shows how much of a brotherhood we really have," O'Brien said.
The amount of support at a police officer funeral is a sight to behold — police officers, sheriff's deputies, state troopers, and patrol car after patrol car from all across the state gather to pay their last respects.
"It was very impressive. It was. Kind of makes your eyes sweat a little bit, you know?" said O'Brien.
Kane County Sheriff Lamont Smith said he remembered the brotherhood and support that was sent to southern Utah after one of his deputies, Brian Harris, was shot and killed three summers ago.
"It was amazing how many agencies came," Smith said.
Millard County Sheriff Robert Dekker still has a sticker on his car honoring Deputy Josie Greathouse Fox who was also shot and killed three years ago. He said the brotherhood helped his office heal just by showing them that they weren't alone.
"That's worth everything. That's just worth everything, and I remember that. And that's why we come to these, to tell everybody else, ‘We're with you'," Dekker said.
And it's not just officers from Utah that show support to Utah's officers.
During Sgt. Johnson's funeral, there were officers from Wyoming, Nevada, Idaho and Colorado.
Lt. Lee Perry with the Utah Highway Patrol remembered the multi-state support when his friend and colleague Aaron Beesly died last year.
"That's what's amazing. You come to something like this and you see all these different agencies involved from the state of Utah, and even some surrounding states, because we truly are a brotherhood. Not just in the state of Utah, but throughout the United States," Johnson said.
Sgt. Derek Johnson's name will not only be added to the Utah Officers Memorial, but it will also be included on the National Officer's Memorial Wall in Washington D.C. in 2014.
