Mount Holly Police Officer Tyler Herndon, who died in the line of duty last Friday, should be remembered not for the way he died but rather for the way he lived, said Chief Don Roper.
Roper was the first speaker at the funeral for Herndon, 25, held at the First Baptist Church of Kings Mountain.
"When you leave here today," Roper said, "go home and 'Google' Tyler Herndon, and then read the stories. Stories about who he was, stories about him helping people. That was who he was."
Roper, fighting back his emotions, said he was a better man for having known and worked with the Kings Mountain High School graduate, and that both the police department and the entire city of Mount Holly were better places because of the young officer's influence.