Schoolchildren join in tribute to slain Lower Burrell officer

For more than 30 minutes Monday afternoon, an unceasing stream of police cars drove in a funeral procession through Lower Burrell, sirens wailing and lights flashing.

They drove past thousands who lined the streets to pay respects to slain Patrolman Derek Kotecki.

In front of Bon Air Elementary along Leechburg Road, children waved small American flags as they watched the cars heading to Greenwood Memorial Park where Kotecki was to be interred.

Beside them, Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts from Lower Burrell, New Kensington, Tarentum, Harrison and Arnold stood in uniform, saluting as the procession drove past.

"We knew (Kotecki) and we liked him and he died a hero," said Lucas Ciesielski, 11, a fifth-grader at Stewart Elementary. "So we feel we should be here."

Ciesielski, who attended the procession with his Boy Scout pack, remembered watching Kotecki teach a K-9 demonstration at the library.

Their sirens in blaring crescendo, hordes of police cars from near and far drove along Leechburg Road, some adorned with black ribbons and wreaths.

Many who watched the procession were surprised by the abundance of police cars present.

Others noted that the officer's tragic death united the community.

Rick Lippert, a leader for Lower Burrell Cub Scout Pack 556, helped organize Scouts to attend the procession.

"To honor Officer Kotecki and to show respect to him, his family and to all law enforcement," Lippert said.

Lippert, a former paramedic, said Kotecki was a professional colleague of his who responded to the same emergency calls.

"(Kotecki) always showed the utmost in professionalism and did his job with compassion for the community," said Lippert, 42, of Lower Burrell.

Among the Scouts holding flags were Lippert's children, Brady, 11, a fifth-grader at Stewart Elementary, and Austin, 8, a third-grader at Bon Air Elementary.

Brady said the procession was "very special" to him.

"It was very important and sad that a police officer was shot in the line of duty," he said.

"All these people that showed up," said Austin Lippert. "I can't believe how many different cars there were."

Some police officers driving past waved to the children. Others held up their cell phones, seemingly recording videos or taking photos of the procession.

The morning procession along Leechburg Road from Rusiewicz Funeral Home to Mount St. Peter Roman Catholic Church was silent, save for the barking of police dogs and the rumbling of motorcycles.

A funeral caisson drawn by two white horses bore Kotecki's body to the church.

Among other family members, Kotecki is survived by his wife, Julie, and two sons, Nicholas, 13 and Alexander, 11.

Stewart Elementary students watched both the morning and afternoon procession.

"Alex is in our class, and that was his dad who died," said Delaney O'Brien, 9, a fourth-grader at Stewart Elementary. "And we're just supporting him and hoping that he will stay strong even in this tough situation."

Fellow fourth-grader Molly Farneth, 9, said: "It was an officer that died and we had him as a protector for our lives. And now we're all blessing him because he's dead now, and we love him very much and miss him."

Photo Galleries