Dallas police officers joined family and friends at a memorial service Friday for 6-year veteran police officer Larry Tuttle, who was shot and killed in his apartment last weekend in an apparent murder-suicide.
Tuttle, 40, was off-duty when he was fatally shot Feb. 7 by Otto Machelle Thomas, a 42-year-old woman who identified herself to 911 operators as his girlfriend and confessed to the slaying before fatally shooting herself.
Thomas' 6-year-old daughter was inside Tuttle's apartment at the time of the shooting but was not injured.
When operators asked Thomas what had happened she replied, "He is getting ready to hit me again and I just went off. I killed him because he was going to hit me again," according to Assistant Chief Randy Blankenbaker.
Police said there is no history of domestic violence charges or allegations against Tuttle and that the investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
The officer's private funeral was scheduled for 10 a.m. at New Hope Funeral Home in Sunnyvale.
Tuttle was married but had been separated from his wife, Kandie Morgan Tuttle, for several months. She described him as an awesome father to their 10-year-old son and said he loved working with the community in the South Central Patrol Division.
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NBC 5's Johnny Archer contributed to this report.
