| 3 days 22 hours 50 min ago Portland bids farewell to fallen officer
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(NECN: Marnie MacLean, Portland, Maine) - Several hundred police officers from Maine and across New England were in Portland Friday to pay their respects to a fellow officer. Sergeant Robert Johnsey died Monday from an accidental gunshot wound to the leg.
He's too young to know this kind of grief, yet old enough to feel a sense of duty, marching to honor his father. 11-year-old A.J. Johnsey walked with his dad's K9 dog and hundreds of police officers, all of them mourning the loss of Sgt. Robert Johnsey.
Johnsey, a nine-year veteran of the Portland Police Department, died Monday after his gun accidentally discharged while he was getting his utility belt ready for his next shift.
Johnsey was remembered as a man devoted to his wife Carol and their children, Rachel and A.J. He always put his family first, but he loved his country too. Johnsey served in both Gulf wars before becoming a police officer.
Portland Police Chief Tim Burton called Sgt. Johnsey a man others could emulate, a courageous man who protected his community and his family. Clearly, that courage can already be seen and heard in his son A.J.'s words about his father.
"My dad always made sure to make time for his family and friends, he would play catch in the yard or take a hike in the woods and just talk...he taught me enough stuff in eleven years to last me until I'm 99...he was the greatest man I ever knew...and even a better dad...losing him is a great loss to the community
and to his family. I love and miss him very much."
*Donations can be made to "Sgt. Robert Johnsey Memorial Scholarship Fund" and mailed to the Portland Police Department Federal Credit Union, 109 Middle Street., Portland, Maine 04101*
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