Montrell Jackson's Family Says Goodbye to Slain Officer: 'Now I Can Brag About You Being an Angel'
On Monday, police officer Montrell Jackson was remembered in death the same way he was celebrated in life: as a peacemaker.
"Montrell was a man who truly loved being a policeman, and he loved this city that he protected," Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said at Jackson's funeral, held Monday afternoon at the Living Faith Christian Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Jackson, a 32-year-old new father and 10-year veteran of the police department, was one of three law enforcement officers slain on July 17, in what authorities have called a targeted attack on police.
His friends and family gathered Monday to say their goodbyes. So many gathered, in fact, that more community members were turned away, according to WAFB.
"Everything you've done, I've bragged about it, even if no one cared," brother Kedrick Pitts said in his eulogy, according to The Advocate. "All I wanted to do was be like you and do what you did. Now I can brag about you being an angel."
• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.
Above Jackson's coffin, they displayed Superman's "S," along with photographs, according to NOLA.com.
"You and Mason were his everything," Jackson's friend, Gelrod Armstrong, told Jackson's widow, Trenisha, at the funeral, according to NOLA.com. "You were his superwoman, and Mason was his super baby."
Jackson's family has previously spoken with PEOPLE about how much he loved being a father to 4-month-old Mason.
"Having a family was one of his dreams, so he did get to fulfill that dream," said Jessica Milligan-Robinson, Jackson's younger sister.
"It was one of his greatest accomplishments," she said.
His family also spoke about his sweet nature and his instincts as a defuser. That was on display in a Facebook post Jackson wrote soon before his death, about the tension he felt as both a black man and a police officer, and about his desire for peace.
"Montrell, he was such a sweet kid," his uncle Charles Cavalier told PEOPLE.
And Milligan-Robinson said, "One of his wishes was that we would stop killing period. That's the reason he became a cop.
"He wanted to make the streets better and safer for everybody. Not just for his sister or for his cousin, but for everybody."
Jackson's is the final of the funerals for the slain officers. Officer Matthew Gerald and sheriff's deputy Brad Garafola were laid to rest last week.
