‘He loved the people he served.’ Hundreds attend funeral for one of three slain KY officers.

With solemn ritual and deep sorrow, an Eastern Kentucky community said good-bye Tuesday to a police officer slain in the line of duty.

William Petry, 60, a deputy with the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office and a former Kentucky State Police officer, died in a hail of gunfire June 30 when he and other officers went to serve an emergency protective order on a man accused of assaulting and raping a woman.

Floyd County Sheriff John Hunt said Petry was an exceptional police officer and a dedicated public servant.

“William loved law enforcement. He loved the people he served,” Hunt said at the funeral.

Hunt said he first hired Petry as a school resource officer, but other deputies were so impressed by Petry’s experience and leadership that they pestered Hunt to bring him on as a deputy to work with them.

Deputy Kevin Thacker said other officers idolized Petry.

“We knew that Petry had everyone’s back,” he said.

In a letter read at the service, Tommy Reed, who has been a law enforcement chaplain, referenced a passage in the book of John: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

“We’ve seen those words lived out before out very eyes,” Reed said of Petry’s sacrifice.

Pastor Jeff White led a prayer in which he thanked God “for a life well lived, a life that helped so many people.”

Petry was also chief of a volunteer fire department. He is survived by his wife, Sherry, a son and daughter, and two grandchildren.

Petry’s family was his life, Hunt said.

Two officers in full-dress uniform stood at stiff attention at either end of Petry’s flag-draped casket before the funeral, hands folded and heads bowed.

When other officers relieved them, the crowd at the Mountain Arts Center stood out of respect.

Photos of a life gone by rotated on video screens — Petry relaxing with his family, at a wedding, in the swimming pool, at a birthday celebration, in front of a Christmas tree.

Hundreds of community members attended the funeral, along with police officers from dozens of other agencies. Outside, fire trucks, police cruisers and other emergency vehicles waited, lights flashing, to escort Petry to a cemetery outside town.

Officers came from as far as Dallas and Texas to show respect for Petry and support for his family, said Sgt. Cindy Smith of the Dallas Police Department.

“It helps to honor those were killed in the line of duty,” said Smith, who was with an organization called Brotherhood for the Fallen.

An organization called Supporting Heroes helped arrange the service.

People lined the route to the cemetery in the stifling heat to see the procession, which passed under a giant U.S. flag suspended from the ladders of two fire trucks.

At the cemetery, bagpipers and a Kentucky State Police honor guard escorted Petry’s casket, which was on a horse-drawn carriage. A riderless horse with boots turned backward in the stirrups led the way.

Members of the honor guard held aloft the U.S. flag that had been on the casket, and seven officers fired a 21-gun salute.

As dark gray storm clouds gathered over the surrounding mountains, the honor guard meticulously folded the flag, giving it to a Floyd County deputy, who gave it to Hunt to present to Petry’s son, Chase.

Then came the poignant last radio call performed at funerals for fallen officers. A dispatcher called once on the radio for Unit 214, Petry’s number, then again, the words echoing across the cemetery as people wept.

The dispatcher made the final call, saying Hunt served 32 years with honor, distinction and integrity.

Then, he announced, Unit 214 was 10-7 — out of service.

Bagpipers played Amazing Grace to finish the ceremony just before rain moved in on a lashing wind.

Lance Storz, 49, allegedly opened fire without warning on Petry and other police officers as soon as they got out of their cars outside his house in Allen, a small town near Prestonsburg.

Petry and Capt. Ralph Frasure with the Prestonsburg Police Department died at the scene. Jacob Chaffins, a dog handler with the Prestonsburg police, was gravely wounded and died the next day.

Several other people, including police officers, a constable and the county’s emergency manager, were wounded. A woman had told authorities that Storz assaulted her, held her against her will and raped her. Police had taken her and her young daughter to safety before going to serve the domestic-violence order against Storz.

The funeral for Frasure is scheduled Wednesday with Chaffins’ service to follow on Thursday.