Funeral services set for Officer Rogelio Santander

DALLAS - The Dallas police officer killed in a shooting Tuesday will be laid to rest on Tuesday.

A public visitation for Officer Rogelio Santander will be held Monday night at Cathedral Guadalupe in Downtown Dallas. His funeral will be Tuesday morning at Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall.

He will be buried afterward at Restland Cemetery in northeast Dallas.

Police escorted the Officer Santander’s body from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital to the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office overnight.

Many saluted as the procession of cars went by. Firefighters paid tribute as well. They parked trucks on bridges over North Central Expressway.

Some became emotional after watching the body being moved into the medical examiner’s office.

There were also tears and some laughter Thursday night at a candlelight vigil for the fallen officer at the Northeast Division Patrol Station, where he worked.

“It’s hard to talk about him in the past tense,” said Sgt. Shannon Smith, his supervisor. “But you would not have met a better officer than Santander.”

People in the crowd were also there to support his partner, Officer Crystal Almeida, and Home Depot employee, Scott Painter. Both of them were critically injured in Tuesday’s attack.

Officer Almeida is said to be recovering after being shot in the face. Painter’s family is requesting privacy. Doctors predict he will also recover.

Police from Richardson, Garland and Mesquite took over patrols in the Northeast Division during the vigil.