HOUSTON -- Thousands of mourners attended a memorial service Wednesday for a Houston police officer who was killed in the line of duty, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Officer Rodney Johnson's funeral was held at Grace Community Church in the 14500 block of the Gulf Freeway.

"We stand together at a time like this," Police Chief Harold Hurtt said. "We work together and we grieve together. As far as Rodney, now he's passed the torch on to the rest of us."

More than 4,000 people, including city leaders and law enforcement officers from around the country, crowded into the church to show support to Johnson's wife, Joslyn, who is also a Houston police officer.

"Josslyn, I know when you walked in that you saw this sea of blue on the side and behind us. These men and women loved your husband greatly and they are here for you today," said HPD chaplain Monty Montgomery.

Johnson's sister thanked everyone, including strangers and the law enforcement community, for all their support.

"On behalf of my family, I would like to take the time to say thank you for your outpouring of love and support for my brother. He was a wonderful guy. He still is and will always be. It's going to be hard. It's never easy. I'm going to miss him, but I know he's with me every day. And to his kids -- we got you. He's all over you," said Susan Johnson, Johnson's sister. "I can't say enough about him. But if you take anything from here today -- just know that he was a great man, a great brother, a great father, a great son. He was big. He had a big soul and a big heart and he's going to forever be big like that."

Johnson's children are sad their father will miss important events in their lives.

"Every day I'm missing you," daughter Amber Johnson said in a statement read by a family friend. "I'm left here feeling angry, confused and alone without you. Being first born, I'm very saddened and depressed for you not being able to see me graduate from high school, college or giving me away on my wedding day."

Johnson, 40, was shot and killed during a traffic stop in the 9300 block of Randolph Street near Braniff Street on Thursday.

Juan Leonardo Quintero, 32, has been charged with capital murder in connection with Johnson's death. Investigators said Quintero has confessed to shooting Johnson in the head multiple times.

"(Johnson) was awarded the medal of valor and that was things he did on a routine basis because he loved what he did. Rodney loved his family. They loved him and we loved Rodney," Hurtt said.

"Great guy, real nice, low key, always smiling," friend Byron Theragood said. "It's going to be a tragic loss, not for his family, but also for the department and the city of Houston, too."

Johnson, a U.S. Army veteran, graduated from the HPD Academy in December 1994.

He is survived by a wife, three daughters and two sons.

Johnson was buried at Earthman Resthaven Cemetery on the North Freeway near Kuykendahl Road.

Drivers lined up their vehicles along the 30-mile precession route to show their support for the officer's family and the Houston Police Department.

Police Chief's Statement

Nemo Me Impune Lacessit

No one injures me with impunity. This is the motto that we pin across our badges to remind others that we stand together in protecting citizens and to remind ourselves that we have each other.

This is the motto that we cling to when an officer like Rodney Johnson is senselessly taken from us. By all accounts this was a man whose life was guided by his beliefs, a gentle giant who put meaning into the words community policing. Whether it was sitting on the union board to further the interests of officers, or pitching in with fundraisers for the community, he lived his life in service to others.

Dragging people out of a burning building was a typical day at the office for Rodney, and it earned him the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education's Medal of Valor. His commitment to the job led to volunteering for warrant squads, task forces and the Strategic Officer Staffing Program. He was very supportive of new technology that would lessen the threat to officers and he put that enthusiasm to work on the taser committee. He truly believed in making a better life for others.

Rodney was a man who was strong in his faith and a man who reveled in the big family that loved him. It is my hope that his wife, Officer Josslyn Johnson, and his family can find comfort knowing how well Rodney Johnson wore our uniform.

We work together, we protect together, we grieve together. No one injures me with impunity. In times when nothing else seems to make sense, we know this much is true.

Fund For Officer's Family

KPRC Local 2 held a telethon to benefit the 100 Club's Survivor's Fund on Tuesday. The Survivors Fund provides benefits to the dependents of peace officers and firefighters killed or injured in the line of duty.

Viewers donated $87,859 during the nearly 14-hour telethon.

The 100 Club continues to accept donations to help families of fallen heroes.

Donations can be sent to the following address:

100 Club Survivor's Fund
1233 W. Loop S., Suite 1250
Houston, TX 77027

Donations can also be made online at www.the100club.org or over the phone at 713-952-0100.