DALLAS – Funerals are set to begin for the five officers slain by a sniper during a protest last week in downtown Dallas.
Funerals will be held Wednesday for Dallas Police Sr. Cpl. Lorne Ahrens, Dallas Police Sgt. Michael Smith and Dallas Area Rapid Transit Officer Brent Thompson.
Colleagues of Ahrens have told law enforcement officers from as far away as Canada that Ahrens was a "supersized can of kickass" who was a voracious reader with an intelligence that was equal to his size.
Hundreds gathered Wednesday at Prestonwood Baptist Church in the Dallas suburb of Plano to mourn the 6-foot-5, 300-lb. Ahrens, one of the five officers slain last week by a sniper during a protest march. Nine officers and two civilians were injured in the attack.
The 48-year-old Ahrens worked with the Los Angeles County sheriff's department and was a semipro football player before moving to Texas and joining the Dallas police force.
He often volunteered, in uniform, at the school his 8-year-old and 10-year-old attended.
Dallas Police Officer Michael Krol's funeral is set for Friday, and Dallas police Officer Patrick Zamarripa's funeral will be held Saturday.