Hundreds Line Up Monday to Honor Slain Officer

Hundreds of mourners -- many of them cops from throughout the U.S. -- stood in line Monday evening at the First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg to pay final respects to Police Officer David Crawford, killed in the line of duty.

The three-hour viewing was attended by police from as far away as California, Chicago, Rhode Island, Georgia and Miami.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott will join thousands of people expected to attend Tuesday's funeral for Crawford at the church on Gandy Bouelvard. Crawford, a career patrol officer, was gunned down a week ago today by a teenage assailant in St. Petersburg.

Nicholas Lemmon Lindsey, 16, was arrested in the shooting death of Crawford.

Monday night, police in full-dress uniform paid solemn respect to one of their own. One Miami-Dade policewoman said: "It's not our pleasure but our honor to be here. On the day we lost two of our officers in Miami, you (St. Pete) lost two of yours as well. Its just a sad day for law enforcement."

The officer referred to the Jan. 24 shooting death of two other St. Petersburg Police Officers: Thomas Baitinger and Jeffrey Yaslowitz. The officers' funerals also were held at the First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg on Gandy Boulevard.

Chicago officers, interviewed by TV reporters, said they felt the need to honor the life and work of  Crawford.

Retired St. Pete Police Officer and SWAT member Mike Garafolo was working the funeral detail at the viewing Monday and knew Crawford well.

"I had 35 years in and he was working on 25 years on the job. He was always very good with the domestic cases; he could always get the family to cooperate. He was just good with people like that," he said.

"I knew Dave for more than 20 years, " retired St. Pete Police Assistant Chief for Administrative Affairs Debbie Prine said. " I think one of our officers called him a diamond in the rough," she said sadly. " He was just a big, burly, sweet guy."