Thousands pay tribute to Connecticut state police officer killed during a traffic stop on the highway

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Thousands of people, including police officers from across the Northeast and beyond, gathered Wednesday for the funeral of a Connecticut state trooper who was killed by a fleeing motorist during a traffic stop last week.

Trooper First Class Aaron Pelletier, 34, will be remembered as a dedicated public servant and loving husband and father of two young boys.

“He was a man of integrity and honor, and I will make sure our children always know that those qualities definitely came from him,” his wife Dominique said in a tearful speech. “To my sweetheart, you were not just my husband. You were my home. You were my heart. You were my safe place and my provider. My best friend. My secret keeper. My favorite gossip.”

“The light in our smiles will fade forever and the thought of this world without that laughter seems unimaginable but has already become a reality,” she said. “I promise to keep you alive forever in our home, in our hearts and in our boys’ memories. I love you and I miss you.”

Wednesday morning began with a 20-mile-long funeral procession from a funeral home in Southington to the amphitheater in Hartford, where the funeral was held. Dozens of police motorcycles and vehicles escorted a hearse carrying Pelletier’s casket. Fire department turntable ladders raised American flags along the route.

A bagpipe and drum band played at the service, which was also attended by Governor Ned Lamont and other state leaders.

Pelletier, a nine-year police veteran stationed in Hartford, was working overtime on a traffic enforcement call on May 30 when he stopped an unbelted driver on eastbound Interstate 84 in Southington. While he was talking to the driver, a pickup truck pulled onto the right shoulder and struck Pelletier’s patrol car, Pelletier and the stationary vehicle before driving away.

The driver of the pickup, Alex Oyola-Sanchez, was arrested several towns down I-84, state police said. He is charged with second-degree manslaughter, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and several other offenses. The New Britain public defender’s office representing him did not immediately respond to a message Wednesday.

Pelletier, a Southington native, was the 26th Connecticut police officer to die in the line of duty since the department was founded in 1903. His police dog, Roso, was in the back seat of his patrol car at the time but was not seriously injured.

At the funeral, state police chief Col. Daniel Loughman posthumously awarded Pelletier two medals, including the State Police Medal of Honor and a lifesaving medal. A week before his death, Pelletier had saved the life of a motorcyclist after an accident by applying tourniquets to his arms, Loughman said.

“It was clear to me and everyone who worked with him that he truly loved his job as a police officer in Connecticut,” Loughman said. “For nine years he demonstrated nothing but a dedication to duty.”

A GoFundMe page for Pelletier’s family had raised more than $525,000 as of Wednesday.

Following the funeral service, a private burial took place at a cemetery in Southington.

Dave Collins, Associated Press