Hundreds say goodbye, pay their respects to slain Officer Tamarris Bohannon
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ST. LOUIS, MO (KMOV) — Hundreds of people lined the sidewalk in front of the Cathedral Basilica Saturday evening to pay their respects to the family of Police Officer Tamarris Bohannon.
Bohannon, 29, was shot last Saturday after responding to a shooting call just south of Tower Grove Park. He died Sunday from his injuries.
The young officer, with just more than three and a half years on the force, leaves behind a wife and three children.
“I think anybody who has had children, anybody that’s been married can think of this young widow and her small children and them coming together and finding their way through this,” said Teri Powers, who attended the visitation.
Law enforcement officers from around the St. Louis area as well as Illinois paid their respects too. Bohannon is the eighth St. Louis police officer to be shot in the line of duty this year.
Elizabeth Wirtel, a high-school friend of Bohannon, was emotional as she reflected on her late friend.
“He was a real close friend of mine and we just lost touch after we graduated,” she said. “I went to prom with him and his now wife and was at their wedding.”
Wirtel said despite losing touch, she was immediately filled with grief upon hearing the news.
“At first I didn’t want to believe it, I thought they had identified him wrong,” she said. “But when they came out with the picture and everything and I touched base with some family members, it definitely hit home.”
Rhetta Crawford lives across the street from the family and said Bohannon was a hard working, dedicated officer who she often saw leave for work.
“He’s dedicated, he’s been honored as officer of the month, excellence in his work and dedicated,” she said. “All he was doing was his job that day and he was ambushed and shot in the head.”
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