An overflow crowd gathered at Bayside Church Adventure Campus north of Sacramento on Thursday to pay their respects to police Officer Tara O’Sullivan.
The 26-year-old was shot and killed last week while responding to a domestic violence call. O’Sullivan is the first Sacramento police officer killed in the line of duty in two decades.
The mood at the Roseville service was somber as the crowd honored the fallen rookie, who was still in training. But there were lighter moments too. Like when O’Sullivan’s police academy sergeant, Brent Kaneyuki, cited her physical record for holding the longest plank.
“Not only the academy record, but also the department plank record for both males and females, with a time of 26 minutes and 7 seconds,” he recalled.
Friends talked about O’Sullivan’s love of her job and exuberance for life. She was certain she wanted to be a police officer since she was a child, and even participated in training programs while growing up in the Bay Area.
Still the grief was ever-present. Her godfather, Gary Roush, said he’s angry about everything O’Sullivan won’t get to do.
“Tara planned to go to Ireland. She had a boyfriend, Adam, who she loved, with whom she most likely would have enjoyed a long life,” he said. “She had such ambition. She likely would have risen to the highest rungs in the ranks. That won’t happen.”
