Who died?

[being-homeless.livejournal.com]

I was on Mass Ave around 12:30 between Porter and Davis and this huge funeral procession came through with 10 Cambridge Police officers escorting it...
who died locally that would have had a police escort like that and a huge funeral procession?

I'm really curious...

Comments

don't know, but ...

[fidgetmonster.livejournal.com]

I thought I'd read somewhere that most all funeral processions were given police escorts lately. i can't remember if this is town specific, or state. some of the processions are really long and there can be trouble with parking and traffic, etc. often a large escort, like the one you describe, doesn't necessarily have to be someone "important" (in quotes cause we're all important! :), but just someone in the force, a retired officer, or someone they all knew. the parade-like quality of an escort is one way they show their respect.

ack. now i'm getting all teary eyed thinking of it. i cry at any funeral, whether i knew the person or not. must remind me of too many loved ones dying.

[georgy.livejournal.com]

Unrelated, but I have a weird funeral procession story.

Back during my freshman year at BU, I stepped out of Warren Towers early one Saturday morning for some God unknown reason and saw a funeral procession going slowly down Comm. Ave. I had never seen one so close up before, and I was taken by it. It really is beautiful, in a way.

So, naturally, they're going slow, right? Like 5, 10 mph? Anyways, two BPD motorcycle cops are leading the procession, and all the sudden, one of them just crashes, right in front of Warren, his bike sliding 10 feet or so down the street and little bits of glass and, well, motorcycle spraying all over. He didn't hit anything, he just.. crashed. Making the procession all the more surreal.

[fidgetmonster.livejournal.com]

He didn't hit anything, he just.. crashed.

That IS surreal. one of his wheels might have locked up though. or some other mechanical failure.

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

More likely he simply dumped it. Police bikes are heavy and difficult to handle at low speeds. I'm not a cop but I ride too. I have over 30,000 miles of experience, and I'd be lying if I said it didn't happen to me a time or two.

Dead embarrassing when it happens.

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

cops are SUPPOSED to be trained to handle super slow mo stuff too... such as it goes. all you need it one spot with some diesel fuel/oil/grease and down you go.

that said, it seems anyone with enough money can file the forms and hire a parade, also manage to shut down a road, and eliminate parking spots for purposes of the funeral. which, while in one way, shows respect, there's just TOO many people alive these days (even the IMPORTANT ones), to command such respect. the traffic snarls that can occur can be murder. literally.

a few years ago, i saw a several mile long procession going around 128/95 for MILES and they went as slow as they pleased, during late afternoon rushhour. they even had helicopters (or the news?) HUNDREDS of police it seemed. i believe that one was for an important police chief; and respects had to be paid. hopefully, there wasn't any major need for police to be elsewhere.

Yeah

[mekunekud.livejournal.com]

Yeah, when driving around the Somerville area, I dread seeing those little orange flags. There are several churches and funeral homes right near Tufts where I live/go to school, and getting stuck behind 80 cars all going to the same place is obnoxious. I don't think they happen every week, but I think it's pretty common in the Catholic community around here (I'm from a few towns away and see them at home too) to have the big procession from the church to the cemetary, blocking up traffic along the way :)