East Bay Community Remembers, Says Goodbye to Slain Hayward Sergeant

Family members and fellow officers spoke at an emotional funeral ceremony this morning for Hayward police Sgt. Scott Lunger, who was slain during a traffic stop last week. Lunger, 48, a Brentwood resident, Dublin High graduate and 15-year veteran of the Hayward Police Department, was shot and killed after pulling over a truck driving erratically near Myrtle and Lion streets early on the morning of July 22.

According to friends and family at the funeral, Lunger wanted to be a police officer since he was a child.

Thousands of people, including many police officers from around the Bay Area, came to honor Lunger at the funeral this morning at Oracle Arena in Oakland.

Oracle Arena was silent as Lunger’s casket was carried inside. He was followed closely by his family including his two daughters, one of whom was cloaked by her father’s uniform jacket. His family was followed by what appeared to be his SWAT team, symbolic sentinels guarding over him and his family.

“They [officers] were holding each other, even while at attention,” said one resident who attended the funeral. “Other units brought them Kleenex; they needed consoling.”

Fighting back tears, the sergeant’s father, Paul Lunger, said, “You were my son and my sunshine, you brightened my days.”

Lunger’s daughter Saralyn Lunger called him “the bravest man I know.”

“Even though the pain of missing him will never go away, my mom, my sister and my family will survive this because we were the luckiest people in the world to have him in our lives,” she said.

Police Chief Diane Urban spoke at length about Lunger and his time at the department.

“Scott personified the warrior spirit in everything he did,” Urban said. “He was an example of how we should live our lives everyday.”

Lunger’s friend and fellow Sgt. Brian Maloney offered moments of levity during the ceremony, including playing a video clip of Lunger leading a rendition of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.” Maloney also offered memories of Lunger’s commitment to the job.

“I can’t put into words his level of tenacity and passion for working the street,” he said. Former Alameda County prosecutor and current U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell called Lunger “a warrior, a hero” who always presented thoroughly investigated cases to the district attorney’s office that led to guilty pleas.

“It’s a devastating loss that Sgt. Lunger is not on the streets of Hayward fighting crime,” Swalwell said.

Swalwell told Lunger’s family, “You shared Scott with us for 15 years. During that 15 years, the city of Hayward was safer.”

Following the ceremony, which was still taking place as of noontime, Lunger’s body will be taken to its final resting place in Brentwood.

Residents, police officers and firefighters from Dublin, Pleasanton and Livermore lined up across the freeway overpasses along I-580 and saluted as the procession passed by.

Mark Estrada, 21, was the truck driver who allegedly shot Lunger without warning during the traffic stop, police said. Lunger’s partner returned fire at the truck, which fled the scene. Lunger was taken to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, where he died.

Estrada later showed up at a hospital with gunshot wounds and was eventually arrested and charged with killing Lunger.

Full coverage of the fatal shooting on Patch:

• Suspect is in Custody for Fatal Shooting of Officer
• Thousands Gather for Slain Hayward Officer’s Funeral Service
• Suspect Charged with Murder for Death of Hayward Police Sergeant
• In Photos: Candlelight Vigil for Sergeant Scott Lunger
• Police Sergeant Fatally Shot During Traffic Stop in Hayward
• Community Takes to Social Media to Mourn Loss of Hayward Police Sergeant
• Candlelight Vigil for Fallen Hayward Police Sergeant
• Slain Police Sergeant Remembered as ‘Ideal Officer’
• Police Chief Says Big Turnout is Best Way to Honor Sgt. Scott Lunger

By Bay City News and AUTUMN JOHNSON

Photo 1: Heather Grimm

Photo 2: Euan Rannachan

Photo 3: Paige Johnson

Additional photos contributed

Video embed courtesy Brandon Vaccaro via YouTube