MOUNT VERNON, Wash. — Almost in total silence, law enforcement and emergency personnel stood perfectly still, right hands in a salute, as Brent Hanger's casket followed closely by the wife and six children who adored him was carried into an auditorium in Mt. Vernon. Trooper Scott Brown—who rode in the procession from the funeral home to the service-- adored him too.
"If anyone could separate work from off duty it was Brent," Brown told us. "He could turn it on and off, just a super guy."
We heard that a lot-- from the podium where one of Hanger's closest friends-- a fellow state patrolman-- fought back tears.
"We all loved Brent,” Trooper Kale Saur told the crowd of about a thousand. “He took us under his wing and he's a big brother to me, a role model."
Hanger suffered a medical emergency last week and is the 29th Washington State Patrolman to die in the line of duty. All of them receive these honors but now-- maybe more than ever, Brown says-- it's hard to be a cop.
"It's tough, puts some worry in all of our families' minds,” Brown explained. He’s says it’s important to band together when there's tragedy.
Officers from across North America came to show their support-- including a chief with the California Highway Patrol.
"You know it's sad-- I wish I didn't go to any,” explained Ruben Leal of attending funerals of fallen officers. “But I probably go to anywhere from one to as much as four or five on a bad year."
And just this one is heartbreaking enough.
"He's just one of those guys you think is going to live forever, you know, but puts things in perspective,” said Brown. “We're going to sure miss him."
As is tradition the service ended with a dispatcher calling out Detective Hanger's number 938 over the PA system twice-- and then saying “out of service, gone but not forgotten.”