More than a dozen people stood alongside Dallas police officers and firefighters on the Midpark Road overpass as Officer Rogelio Santander’s funeral procession inched closer along Highway 75.
“Look at all of these people that protect us,” said Michelle Rogers to her grandson. “See how much love.”
Rogers said she and her grandbaby have seen Santander at their local Walmart.
“He would say 'mommy look, granny look! There’s a police officer!' And [Santander] would greet him, give him a sticker, say hello,” she said.
Rogers remembers Santander’s face and his bright smile.
“I always remember him by his haircut,” she said laughing. “And he always complemented me on mine.”
As Santander’s motorcade drove beneath the group, people from all walks of life stood in silence and in prayer.
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“Peace be with him and his family,” said Tia Hayes.
She said her cousin died in the line of duty a year ago in Austin.
“He actually passed away in a motorcade. He was driving a funeral procession,” she said.
Rogers calls the procession ‘beautiful’ and hopes her grandbaby will remember the show of love and unity demonstrated today.
“He’ll talk about it,” she said. “He’ll embrace it and who knows, he might become an officer one day.”
