OGDEN -- Dozens of police motorcycles wound their way into the Ogden City Cemetery on Wednesday afternoon, leading a procession to honor the passing of one of their own.
From the back of a red fire engine, a detail of Ogden police officers gently lowered the flag-draped casket of fallen Officer Jared Francom.
A small group of people waited at the cemetery since the early morning.
The boys from Boy Scout Troop 787, of North Ogden, shivered in the cold, each clutching an American flag.
"(Francom) was an Eagle Scout when he was young," said Scoutmaster Jesus Ibarra.
"A lot of these boys are also Eagle Scouts. We wanted to support the family of the fallen officer."
Also waiting for the procession to arrive was Weber County Sheriff's Deputy Dan Halacy and his trumpet.
A trumpeter since the third grade, Halacy has been called upon to play Taps at funerals around the area.
"I just pray I do it the best I can, and that I bring honor and dignity to the officer," Halacy said.
He prefers to wait at the cemetery instead of attending the service, in order to maintain his focus for the solemn performance.
"For me, the emotions that are involved with that are hard," Halacy said. "I've had the personal experience of having friends that I later played Taps for."
With the arrival of the funeral procession, hundreds descended upon the cemetery.
The motorcycle officers lined up immediately west of the burial site. Other law enforcement officials in uniforms of various shades of blue and brown, and wearing a variety of headgear from police caps to Stetsons and even a British bobby custodian helmet, waited patiently.
An honor guard and casket detail moved slowly to the music of the Ben Lomond Bagpipe Corps, down a path with officers lining each side.
After remarks, a song and a prayer, the Ogden Police Department presented Francom's widow, Erin, with the department's Medal of Honor for his dedicated service to residents of the city and the ultimate sacrifice he made.
As Francom's widow sat with the flag in her lap, holding the medal as one of her daughters stood at her feet, three volleys of gunfire filled the air, followed by Halacy playing Taps.
A flock of white doves flew into the sky as four helicopters in a diamond formation came in from the east. As they passed overhead, a single helicopter broke away in a missing man formation.
After the helicopters passed, the officers were instructed to tune their radios to an Ogden police main channel.
From the radios came Francom's last call, which ended with "Whiskey 12, Jared Francom is 10-42," meaning end of duty.
As the service ended, the officers made their way by their fallen comrade, leaving piles of white gloves behind on his casket.
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