“A true hero,” was how Memphis Police Department interim Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis said Officer Joseph “Rusty” McKinney would be remembered at his funeral Monday afternoon.
One of his supervisors at the Raines Precinct, Lt. Vonzell Bibbs, said McKinney led “a life well-lived,” and that he was a trusted partner among others on the Alpha shift.
“I heard an officer say this: ‘He wasn’t just a good police officer, McKinney was a good partner,'” Bibbs recalled from the night McKinney was shot. “That means you’re dependable. That means you show up. That’s McKinney. On that night, when officers called for help, he showed up.”
The funeral, hosted at Hope Church, brought law enforcement, first responders and political officials.
MPD Assistant Chief Don Crowe, whose voice wavered as he spoke on stage, said McKinney entered the police academy as part of basic recruit class 132. The class graduated, and began as probationary officers, on Feb. 15, 2020.
The class motto, Crowe read off, was a quote from former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but the judgment that something else is more important than the fear you face,” Crowe read.
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Though somber, Bibb’s recollection of McKinney drew applause and cheers. Described as a practical joker during the sermon, the crowd would let out wide periods of laughter.
McKinney was killed during a shootout with two teens. An 18-year-old, identified as Jaylen Lobley, was also killed. A 17-year-old was critically injured and has been charged in connection to the shooting, with the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office seeking to try him as an adult.
Two other Memphis police officers were injured during the shooting.
The DA’s office, after charging the 17-year-old, said evidence from the shootout indicated that McKinney was killed by friendly fire.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: How MPD, Memphians are honoring Memphis Police Officer Joseph McKinney