Photo: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images
Family, friends and colleagues of the Huntington Beach Police Department gathered this Tuesday to honor Officer Nicholas Vella, who passed away on 03 February in a helicopter accident while responding to a call in Newport Beach.
More than 1,000 people attended the ceremony in honor of the deceased officer, which was held at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
The public did not have access to the ceremony, but it was broadcast live on the social networks of the city of Huntington Beach.
The events began early, with a procession who left from the police headquarters Huntington Beach at 7 am., He drove along Pacific Coast Highway to Magnolia and from there to the highway, followed by dozens of motorcycles and police cars with their lights on. .
Thousands of people witnessed the procession along the streets and avenues through which the transport carrying Vella’s coffin passed on its way to the Honda Center , and along the route some residents carried signs with words in memory of the officer.
The 19 of February, Vella, of 44 years, and another officer responded by helicopter to the call for a disturbance in Newport Beach. On the way back, the helicopter suffered mechanical failure and fell into the water between Lido Isle and the Balboa Peninsula, a few feet from the beach.
Related: Pilot of the accident police helicopter in Newport Beach reported mechanical failure moments before falling
The second officer was rescued from the aircraft and transferred to a hospital, where he was later discharged.
Vella, veteran of 18 years as a police officer, 14 of them in the Huntington Beach apartment , died in the accident and left behind a wife and a daughter.
Related: Officer killed in Newport Beach police helicopter crash identified by authorities
“I didn’t know Nick because I’ve only been there for three months here in Huntington Beach as a boss. So I started to get acquainted with him, I asked my deputy to get me his personnel file and I’m reading each and every one,” Huntington Beach Police Department Chief Eric Parra said during the service.
“He was the best guy, he had the best communication style, he would do whatever he wants in this department, he was a leader, an example of courage. I gathered all the positive things in each evaluation“, he added.
A page of donations to help Vella’s family.
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