Thousands of New York City police officers gathered outside Saint Rose of Lima Church in the Rockaway Beach section of Queens on Monday for the funeral of Officer Dennis Guerra, who was killed in the line of duty Wednesday while responding to a mattress fire in a Coney Island high-rise building.
The officers lined the street and saluted Guerra's funeral procession. Mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife, Chirlane McCray, also attended the funeral.
Guerra and his partner, Rosa Rodriguez, were responding to the fire when they took an elevator to the 13th floor of a building in the Coney Island Houses. When the elevator doors opened, they were overcome by smoke. Guerra died of smoke inhalation. Rodriguez is still in critical condition.
The arsonist allegedly responsible for the fire is 16-year-old Marcell Dockery. Charges against Dockery were upgraded to second-degree murder on Friday, according to The New York Daily News.
Jhaneile Fulcott, 15, wipes away tears as the coffin of fallen New York Police Department (NYPD) officer Dennis Guerra is brought into the St. Rose of Lima Church in Far Rockaway, Queens on April 14, 2014 in New York City. Fulcott is a friend of the officer's daughter. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Guerra, 38, was a seven-year veteran of the NYPD. He is survived by his wife Cathy, and their four children.
Students look out from a window as the coffin of fallen New York Police Department (NYPD) officer Dennis Guerra is brought into the St. Rose of Lima Church in Far Rockaway, Queens. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife Chirlane McCray arrive for the funeral of Officer Dennis Guerra. (Photo by Seth Wenig/AP)
