Ohio’s North Ridgeville Silent crowds of mourners lined the streets of North Ridgeville before dawn on Wednesday, anticipating the procession that will take deceased Lorain police officer Phillip Wagner to his funeral.
Rows of motorcycles parked at First Congregational United Church of Christ next door, and cruisers lined the street outside Liston Funeral Home on Center Ridge Road. While directing traffic, officers conversed discreetly with residents.
Hundreds of locals had assembled by the time the procession to Wagner’s funeral started at 7:45 a.m. On their way to work, adults stopped and stood next to small children holding flags. A wheelchair-bound woman stood in a corner and observed.
Along with the ribbons and memorials that remained from Friday, when authorities transported Wagner back to his community from the Cuyahoga County medical examiner’s office, they carried blue balloons and handcrafted banners that were new tributes.
The public funeral service will start at Rocket Arena at 11 a.m. The Cliffs entry, which is situated at Huron Road and East 6th Street, is open to residents starting at 10 a.m.
Wagner will be buried with full military honors after serving two tours in the U.S. Marine Corps, including one in Afghanistan. A convoy of police cars will drive to Bellevue for a private burial following the funeral service.
His family has requested that donations be sent to the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio in place of flowers.
A day after being ambushed while eating lunch in their patrol cruisers at the Colorado Avenue Industrial Park in Lorain with officer Peter Gale, Wagner passed away on Thursday at MetroHealth Medical Center. Both Wagner and Gale were shot when the shooter, Michael Parker, opened fire with a powerful weapon. Officer Brent Payne was also shot after he hurried to help.
After being transported by air to MetroHealth, Wagner passed away there with Payne. While Gale received treatment at Mercy Health Lorain Hospital for severe hand injuries, Payne was released on Saturday. Police returned fire, killing Parker.
Before joining the Lorain police, Wagner, who was born in Flagstaff, Arizona, on September 1, 1989, worked as an officer in Sheffield Village for four years.
He is survived by his mother, siblings, sister-in-law, nephew, wife of ten years, and their three children. His father had passed away before him.
Phillip Wagner, a Lorain police officer, was escorted to his burial
