BUFFALO, NY — Funeral Services were held Wednesday for Buffalo Police Officer Craig Lehner.
Officer Lehner died Oct. 13 during a training exercise with the Buffalo Police Underwater Recovery team in the Niagara River.
PHOTOS: Honoring Officer Craig Lehner
Thousands of police officers, firefighters and first responders from across the country and Canada attended the service held at the KeyBank Center. Lehner's K-9 Shield attended the service as well and was stationed just a few feet from Lehner's casket.
Members of the Buffalo Police Department, including his partner Tommy Champion spoke of Lehner's love and dedication for his job,especially for his K-9 Shield. Champion was able to tell stories about Lehner as a police officer and Lehner as a great human being.
"I refuse to say goodbye," Champion said.
Hundreds of WNYers lined the streets in downtown Buffalo to witness and pay their respects as the procession made its way to Forest Lawn Cemetery.
Several hundred of those onlookers were made up of the students from Canisius High School along on Delaware Avenue. Staff said about 800 of their freshman through seniors filed into the streets and stood silent, as Officer Lehner's casket passed their school.
"Personally, for me, I was speechless," John Minogue, a senior at Canisius, said. "Just saddened and at the same time, uplifted by the fact that everyone came together to show their respects to Officer Lehner. As you guys heard earlier, he's just a great man, great officer and what he did for our community as well as all officers do for our community, it's just we could never repay them for that. But we did the best we could by standing on the sidewalk today for them."
