‘Everything a police officer should be’: Slain Independence officer Cody Allen mourned

Independence Chief of Police Adam Dustman’s eyes looked out beyond the blue and white bouquets of flowers on the altar and paused at an American flag draped over Independence police officer Cody Allen’s casket.

They moved back out across Community of Christ’s Auditorium where hundreds of law enforcement personnel sat sniffling as Dustman choked up on his words.

His gaze then focused on the front rows.

“I want you to know that your dad was a superhero — just like the ones you see in the movies,” Dustman said to Allen’s son, Brody Ray Allen, and daughter, Adley Mae Allen.

“Your dad was special, and the only thing more special than him is his love for you.”

Then, Dustman spoke directly to his fallen brother.

“Cody, you have fought the good fight and you have earned your place in heaven as you stand as a hero among peacemakers and guardians alike,” he said.

Allen, 35, is remembered as a devoted father, selfless leader and strong-willed servant, among other attributes which embody the legacy of “everything a police officer should be,” his colleagues said Friday.

Allen was killed while rendering aid to Drexel Mack, a Jackson County civil process server who also shot and killed, while attempting to serve an eviction last week.

‘That’s Cody’

Among sorrow and hurt, moments of laughter and joy spread between those who came to celebrate Allen’s life. It was something he would have wanted, his father Tim Allen said.

Cody’s father saw the superhero side of him long before he became a police officer. “He was always extreme,” Tim said.

“When we would ride four wheelers, he would lay it all on the line. He would go as fast as he could,” he said. “I’m sure that when he got to that house (the day of the shooting) he only knew one thing — he was going to help that man that was on the ground.”

“That’s what he did. That’s Cody.”

Cody’s mother Loretta Allen stood beside Tim at the altar Friday wiping away tears. Smiles came in between remarks about her late son’s love for peanut butter, staying fit, camping and his work in law enforcement.

Tim said Cody’s brief stint as a lineman with Evergy was something he had to do to know if there was another career out there for him besides law enforcement. But in his mind, Tim Allen said, Cody never left the police department.

“He’s going to leave the biggest hole in our family,” Loretta said. “We’re all broken and I know all of you are too.”

Loretta said she knew her son was amazing, like a mother always does, but her instincts were confirmed by the outpouring of support the Allen family received following Cody’s death.

Cody’s sister Corie Allen remembers her brother as a caretaker, teacher and protector. Her brother was a cornerstone of her life, she said.

Her life will be dimmer without her brother shining brightly in it, she said, but she will carry him with her wherever she goes.

She told a story Friday about how her siblings would frequent a neighborhood creek as children. They would have to hike through wooded areas to get there.

“He made sure to help me through the woods,” she said. “I never hurt myself a single time in the woods, because Cody made sure of it.”

Corie said she and her brother had made big plans to travel together in the future to “see canyons of color you could only imagine.”

“I wanted my big brother to show me all his favorite places he had been and maybe I could show him a few I liked,” she said. “I’d be able to keep up, to answer questions he had, to help him over fallen logs and up rocks. To show him I remembered everything he taught me.”

A life lived to inspire others

Independence Police Chaplain Garner opened the Friday funeral service with a prayer quoting John 15:13, “There is no greater love than this: that a person would lay down his life for the sake of his friends.”

And in closing the more than two hour long service, Garner encouraged the community to use Allen’s life as a source of inspiration.

“I hope these stories inspired you to take your career higher, your relationship with your children higher, your marriage with your spouse higher.”

Blue and red lights consumed the parking lot at Community of Christ’s auditorium as squad cars and motorcycles weaved into a single file line heading for Odessa, where Cody Allen grew up.

Along Walnut Street to Memorial Drive to Truman Road to Lee’s Summit Road to 39th Street to Little Blue Parkway and onto Interstate 70 East, the procession was met by community members on the sidewalks waving, saluting and sharing messages of support for the fallen officer.

Cody Allen was laid to rest in Odessa Cemetery Friday after receiving law enforcement honors graveside.

“He was a hero,” Harness said. “He will remain a hero for time eternal.”