By Lauri Zachry

Pflag Reporter

Local law enforcement personnel and paramedics showed their respect for fallen Cedar Park police officer Leonard Reed by gathering at highway overpasses on Interstate 35 as his funeral procession drove by Aug. 25.

The procession began after funeral services concluded at Hill Country Bible Church-Northwest off RM 620. Traveling more than eight miles, the procession began at FM 1431 and continued southbound on Interstate 35 to Cook-Walden Capital Parks Funeral Home and Cemetery in Pflugerville.

“We all put our life on the line every day in our field and this is a way we pay tribute to those who have died by putting their lives on the line,” Round Rock Fire Lt. Johnny Davidson said.

Law enforcement officials and emergency service personnel were lined up along I-35 overpasses at FM 1431, Hesters Crossing and RM 620 when the procession passed by.

Reed died Aug. 19 in a motorcycle accident during a training exercise on Arrow Point Drive near FM 1431. He had just completed a traffic stop with a training officer when he lost control and was thrown off his department motorcycle, according to an Aug. 26 Austin American-Statesman article.

Reed was a U.S. Navy veteran and a member of the Cedar Park Police Department for four years. He also served as the school resource officer for Vista Ridge High School in Leander ISD during the 2007-08 school year.

The procession, which included 200 motorcycles and more than 150 cars, flowed southbound on Interstate 35 like a choreographed dance. Four motorcycles, which rode two-by-two and side-by-side of each other, began the procession, said Cedar Park Police Capt. Jeffrey Hayes.

Hayes said law enforcement officials from across Williamson and Travis counties participated in the procession, as did officers from Houston, Dallas, Plano, Corpus Christi, Irving, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, Texas Department of Public Safety, Killeen, San Antonio, Garland, Odessa, Pearland, Sugar Land and Fort Worth.

Local law enforcement officials cleared the southbound lanes of I-35 for the procession and diverted traffic onto the frontage roads. Traffic backed up along the highway in back of it, and on the northbound side of I-35, drivers slowed to catch a glimpse of the procession.

Some civilians stopped their vehicles along both sides of the highway to salute or take photos of the procession.