Final Salute For Slain Officer
Times Picayune  07-24-1996

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Rank upon rank police officers, state troopers, wildlife agents and security
guards, sheriff'

Joining the dead man's family and friends, they were there to honor Chris
McCormick, a patrolman slain in the line of duty, whose trademark was his love
of police work.

"He always wore a smile," McCormick's 3rd District commander, Capt. Anthony
Genovese, said to the overflow crowd of more than 2,000. "This city has lost a
valiant servant. The New Orleans Police Department is poorer by one brave,
dedicated officer."

The funeral, at the Institute of Divine Metaphysical Research in eastern New
Orleans, followed one of the most devastating weeks in the history of the
NOPD. Today, New Orleans will bury narcotics officer Joseph Thomas, gunned
down by a drug suspect less than 24 hours after McCormick was shot by a
prowler.

The killings last week were shocking reminders of the city's unpredictable
violence. Officers at McCormick's funeral spent much of the service standing
silently in somber reflection. Family members clutched one another in tearful
hugs.

The funeral for McCormick, 33, began in front of an open casket with a slow-
motion salute by a white-gloved police honor guard. The gesture was repeated
during the service by Police Superintendent Richard Pennington.

"Officer McCormick, I salute you. You will be missed," Pennington said, his
voice wavering.

Genovese gave mourners a description of the officer he commanded: always the
first to volunteer for tough assignments, eager to sign up for extra training,
often checking on crime victims after his shift was over.

After the funeral service, a miles-long procession of patrol cars and police
motorcycles carried McCormick's flag-draped coffin to St. Louis Cemetery No. 3
on Esplanade Avenue. He was buried less than half a mile from where he
answered his last call.

It was just before midnight last Wednesday when McCormick, a six-year veteran,
responded to a report of a suspicious man on Leda Court. As McCormick and his
partner approached a backyard shed to investigate, an armed man emerged
without warning and fired a shot into McCormick's chest. McCormick was not
wearing the bullet-proof vest that had become almost a regular part of his
uniform.

The woman who called 911 to report the prowler attended the funeral service,
paying respects to the officer she met only minutes before he was killed.

Debbie, who asked that her last name not be used, said, "He died in the line
of duty protecting and defending me. . . . I can't help but feel he died in
place of me."

Mayor Marc Morial addressed the crowd with a message of sorrow and a reminder
to the officers to carry out their fight against crime with McCormick's level
of dedication.

"We must continue to hold up Chris' life and what his work was all about,"
Morial said.

McCormick, a lifelong New Orleans resident, leaves a wife, three sons and two
daughters.