Detective Killed in the Line of Duty Laid to Rest

Hundreds of people joined together Tuesday to remember Detective Paul Hale, a seven-year veteran of the Raleigh Police Department who was fatally shot Friday in the line of duty.

St. Raphael's Catholic church normally holds about 1,200 people. Tuesday, there were at least 2,000 people there to mourn for the first Raleigh police officer to be shot to death in the line of duty in 17 years.

Among the mourners were hundreds of law enforcement officers from across North Carolina and others from outside the state. It was an impressive show of support for a man who was gunned down just days after he was promoted to detective.

Just before the funeral service, the line of police cars with flashing blue lights stretched as far as the eye could see. From them came a seemingly endless parade of uniformed officers, all with black mourning bands on their badges.

Raleigh Police Officer Kevin Carswell remembers Hale as a kind man who helped him through his rookie period.

Rev. William Kelley, who conducted the funeral Mass, referred to Friday's events as an "absurdity."

Hale was buried at Raleigh Memorial Park on Glenwood Avenue. He was married and the father of two girls, Stephanie, 7, and Jessica, 10. Two funds have been set up in the wake of his death.

If you would like to contribute, send checks or money orders to the Paul Hale Memorial Fund, c/o Ravenscroft School, 7409 Falls of Neuse Road, Raleigh, NC 27615 or to the Scholarship Fund (for Hale's two daughters), P.O. Box 590, Raleigh, NC 27602.

Photographer:Mark Copeland