Services announced for fallen McAlester police captain

Derrick James, McAlester News-Capital, Okla.
·2 min read

Mar. 20—Funeral services for McAlester Police Capt. Richard Parker will be held Wednesday in McAlester.

Parker, 52, was found dead at his residence Thursday, March 16, after he did not show up for his shift.

Viewings will be held Monday and Tuesday at Parks Brothers Funeral Home in Wetumka from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. The address for the funeral home is 403 South Main Street, Wetumka, OK, 74883.

The funeral for Parker will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Southeast Expo Center in McAlester. Parker's interment will follow at the Wetumka City Cemetery in Wetumka.

The Tulsa Police Department Honor Guard will serve as active pallbearers with officers from MPD named honorary bearers.

Services will be officiated by Pastor David Cantrell and MPD Lt. Preston Rogers.

Parker was born on May 28, 1970, to Rickey J. Parker and Linda (Newman) Parker. He grew up in Wetumka and graduated from Wetumka High School in 1988 and attended East Central University and received a degree in criminal justice.

After graduating college, he joined the Pittsburg County Sheriff's Office before joining MPD in July 1996.

McAlester Police Chief Kevin Hearod said Parker would have served 27 years with the MPD this July. The police chief said Parker recently told him he would like to serve for another five years before retiring.

Parker was a certified Drug Recognition Expert and Oklahoma Highway Patrol Cadet Lawman Academy Instructor. He had also worked with McAlester SWAT and was a firearms instructor and served as the force's armorer. He would also work overtime for special projects, such as highway safety projects.

Hearod said an officer was sent Thursday to Parker's residence in Tannehill and when the officer arrived, Parker's son answered the door.

"He didn't show up and he didn't call in," Hearod told the News-Capital on Thursday. "That's not like him."

The officer asked the son to wake up his father. The son found his father unresponsive in his bed when he went to try and wake him, Hearod said.

The police chief said there was no sign of foul play or violence, and it appeared the officer was "resting peacefully on his pillow."