Honor Guard 101: Line of Duty Funeral Protocol

Lt. Ken Baine / Fairfax County Police Department - Mar 19 2008

: Photo: Fairfax County Police Department Honor Guard; Click to enlarge

You get one chance to make a first impression. This is the motto all Honor Guard commanders and coordinators should have when planning the funeral of a fallen officer. I have had the unfortunate task of coordinating three line-of-duty funerals for the Fairfax County, Virginia, Police Department in my 18 years on the team. It will be one of the most challenging and exhausting things you will ever do. Trust me.

It is an unfortunate reality that one of your officers can be killed in the line of duty at any time. In this article, I will provide an overview of what my experience has taught me it takes to staff a police funeral.

In 2000, when I became the coordinator we had 15 Honor Guard team members. I have since increased that number to 40. A line-of-duty funeral takes an absolute minimum of 21 team members. The breakdown is as follows:

Pallbearers	6
Flag team	6
Firing Party	8
Funeral Commander	1
Total:	21

That said, I can tell you that 21 team members will not get the job done. For example, what if one of your team members is on leave, sick or too emotionally upset about the fallen officer to participate? To be on the safe side, you will need at least 30 team members for a line-of-duty funeral. If you are a small agency, have a plan with neighboring departments you can turn to if that time comes. You will no doubt need to lean on other agencies for help.

The officer’s family will dictate what honors will be included in each funeral. We must remember to respect their wishes first, however, as commanders and coordinators it is our duty to explain the importance of all these honors to the officer’s family during the funeral planning.

Traditional honors recommended for a line-of-duty police funeral should include:

Pallbearers

Color Team

Firing Party

Taps

Bagpipes

Black bunting on a cruiser

Black bunting on station

The Fairfax County Police Department also offers these additional honors for the funeral of our fallen officers:

Vocalist at the funeral service or graveside

Helicopter flyover

Radio last call

White dove release

It is very important to know what to do if that day comes. I have attended and studied almost 50 line-of-duty funerals, yet still find things that can be improved in our own services. Are you ready if that call comes today?

This article is the first in a series of articles by Lt. Ken Baine covering all aspects of running a police Honor Guard and detailing each honor given at a line-of-duty funeral.

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annagcarter

about 1 month ago

0 comments

Very useful information.
sgtmo

about 1 month ago

1 comment

Thanks for the info.
Posse44

about 1 month ago

75 comments

Yet another great place to get good information.
Darkshadow113

2 months ago

0 comments

This is a very good article and well addressed by Lt. Baine. I have been an active member for 8 years and I am currently the commander of the Pentagon Honor Guard Team. I have approximately 6 officers on the team and trying to train more. The responses you receive for assistances from other departments when you have lost one of your own in the line of duty are without a doubt remarkable. Although, we may be with different agencies, we are all part of a special brotherhood that has devoted our lives to serve, protect and defend the lives of others. We wear the thin blue line to honor those that have made the ultimate sacrifice.
deClaire635

3 months ago

15 comments

I've had the privilege of attending an Honor Guard Academy in South Florida. It is unbelievable on how much really goes into a Police Officer's funeral. This academy was a week long. It needed to be a month, that's how much "detail" is in it.
blueman241

4 months ago

1 comment

Good article. I had the unfortunate duty of laying to rest one of our officers after he was killed in the line of duty. We were lucky enough to have a former Army Old Guard on our team so it was very professional. If you are on a Color Guard or Honor Guard this will be your hardest and most proud moment. thanks for the good info.
94five0

4 months ago

1 comment

a terrrible part of this lifestyle, but a more acurate definiton of "brotherhood", you will never find. It was summer '04 and I was on my way to work and traffic was snarled up to the middle of downtown from the interstate...roughly 4 miles away from my location. and as I approched, I was in awe.. it was a statewide coordination.. local municipalites, surrounding counties, state troopers..all coming to support their fellow brothers, needlessly slain.. we lost 3 of Birmingham's finest: (RIP Harley Chisholm III, Charles Robert Bennett, and Carlos Owen,) {=}
tlwinkles379

4 months ago

175 comments

Good points. I wish we had the luxury of this many people. We only have enough to have a firing team.
roxy1

4 months ago

31 comments

Great Article ........ Well said Lt. Baine ....
cops1521

4 months ago

0 comments

I like the part about Departments turning to other departments for help. When Dekalb County PD Officer Ricky Bryant (and his partner Eric Baker) were killed in the LODD on 1/16/08, being with COPS, we reached out to the many jurisdictions in Monroe County that have Honor Guards for assistance upon learning that Ricky was going to be buried here. All the Honor Guards stepped up and worked with Dekalb County PD Honor Guard throughout the entire process. It was very moving to see the different Departments stepping up to help a Department that had suffered a devestating loss. The Dekalb guys continue to thank us for helping them that way. I can only hope they will do the same if we ever have a LODD, especially for the Deaprtments that don't have one. Thank You to all of you who do the Honor Guard. You have no idea how much it means to the survivors.
brooklynsergeant

4 months ago

118 comments

Great article, a lott of information in a few words. Lt. Baine you have you act together, Sir.
FireDad6

4 months ago

54 comments

I was with a Fire Department Honor Guard in Los Lunas, NM. The Fire and the Police Departments for Los Lunas are small. This is good to know. I am currently learning the bagpipes. It would be an honor for me to play them for a fallen officer as a tribute for his service.
Maguai

4 months ago

69 comments

Thanks. Great article. I've been saying our team needs to get in some practice time... actually over the past week... and we need more members do to the reasons you listed. AT least 4 of our small primary group of 7 are prior military, so we were easily able to train others on drill. Some of what we do depends on the layout/location, but the basics have been the same. I'm definately going to push this info to others right away. It's funny how after years of military service it's hard to remember why some people can't seem to walk or do any drill properly when it comes so naturally to others. I mean, one forgets the PRACTICE it took. We need practice and to expand our teams pool.
rwhite

4 months ago

42 comments

It is good to see a series that will be dedicated to one of the most important things we can do for one of our fallen.
motorcop46

4 months ago

21 comments

Thanks for the info...and we try to do it all with 6 !?!?
swatk9cp

4 months ago

26 comments

Thanks LT Baine for steping up to the plate in a time of need for the fallen brothers and sisters and the familys involved
goodlight

4 months ago

180 comments

This is very good advice. The only thing I would add is that practice makes perfect. I'm not on our Honor Guard but I am the department chaplain and I have obeserved the difference between Honor Guards who train regularly and those who don't ... and it matters BIG TIME. Departments need to allow Honor Guards the time to train and Honor Guards need to make good use of this time. Thanks for the article Lt. Baine and God bless.

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Honor Guard 101: Line of Duty Funeral Protocol

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