Slain Dallas officer honored with 21-gun salute

PLANO, Texas — A large U.S. flag hung from the ladders of two fire trucks as hundreds of mourners gathered for the funeral of Michael Krol, a Michigan native who moved to Dallas to become a police officer.

Law enforcement personnel from across the USA attended the private service Friday at Prestonwood Baptist Church in the Dallas suburb of Plano to honor the 40-year-old. After the service, a public 21-gun salute was held with hundreds of fellow officers

He was one of the five officers that a lone gunman killed last week during a Black Lives Matter march to protest the recent fatal shootings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana by police.

"He knew the danger of the job but he never shied away from his duty," Krol's mother, Susan Ehlke, said in a statement.

She called his move to Dallas to work for the police department his dream job and said that he was a caring person who wanted to help others.

He was an officer with the Dallas Police Department for nine years and previously worked for four years in the Wayne County jails. Detroit is Wayne County's major city.

Funerals for three of the officers were earlier this week:

• Senior Cpl. Lorne Ahrens, 48, had served the Dallas Police Department for 14 years and worked for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office for 11 years before that.
• Sgt. Michael Smith, 55, was a 27-year Dallas police veteran.
• Officer Brent Thompson, 43, a nine-year veteran of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit force, was the first transit officer killed since the agency's unit was founded in 1989.

A Mass of Christian burial for Officer Patricio "Patrick" Zamarripa, 32, who served six years on the force, is scheduled Saturday in Fort Worth. The Navy veteran whose survivors include his wife, 2-year-old daughter and stepson will be buried in Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery.

Contributing: The Associated Press. Follow Bradley Blackburn on Twitter: @BLBlackburn