CENTREVILLE, IL (KPLR) -
The sad tradition of a strong show of support for an on-duty law enforcement death continued, again, in the St. Louis metro area. Centreville buried beloved Lieutenant Gregory Jonas Saturday. He was shot and killed in the same public housing complex he spent many years working to clean up. Bagpipes and a solemn drumbeat accompanied the Jonas family up the steps at Calvary Missionary Baptist Church in Centreville.
While they no doubt felt weakened by grief, they are at the same time strengthened by strangers. Strangers only in the sense they don't know each other's names, but they share the same pain.
"We all protect and serve, so today's a pretty sad day," said Brooklyn, IL Police Detective Paris Johnson. "We lost a good guy."
Hundreds of police officers lined the street, saluting the Jonas family.
"We serve the country but when one of us goes down, a piece of us all goes down," explained Fairview Heights Police Lieutenant Logan Harris.
And it seems Lieutenant Jonas was a big piece of all of them. So many who came to his funeral knew him as an officer, but he was also a son, a friend, a father, and a husband, and great at all of it.
"To us he was a legend," daughter Jessica McNamee told the congregation. "You can't find anybody to replace him. And for my mother dealing with this it's really hard. You just can't explain how great he was to us."
Jonas's superiors, Centreville Township Supervisor Curtis McCall, Mayor Marius Jackson, and Chief Larry Wynn all choked back tears as they described the lieutenant.
"He was not an officer that needed his name to be plastered in the newspaper," said McCall. "He was not an officer that wanted fame or glory. He was a lieutenant that wanted to serve and protect the citizens of the city of Centerville, and how well he did that. How well he did that."
Jackson brought the congregation to its feet, when he asked them to give Jonas one final salute. They gave Jonas a standing ovation, and another came moments later, when Jackson mentioned the Major Case Squad detectives who, within two days of the murder, arrested 22 year old Lemuel Houston.
Harris said the one thing he knows Jonas will always be remembered for is the respect he had from the citizens. "He's got a rough community to be in, but he was not feared, he was not hated. He was respected. That's all you can ask to be at the end of your day."
An overflow crowd had to watch the funeral on closed circuit TV in a room away from the sanctuary. Speakers were even set up outside so officers who were standing on sidewalks and on the street could listen in, too.
The procession from the church in Centreville to the burial in Millstadt wound through several cities, including Alorton, where Jonas began his law enforcement career.
While they no doubt felt weakened by grief, they are at the same time strengthened by strangers. Strangers only in the sense they don't know each other's names, but they share the same pain.
"We all protect and serve, so today's a pretty sad day," said Brooklyn, IL Police Detective Paris Johnson. "We lost a good guy."
Hundreds of police officers lined the street, saluting the Jonas family.
"We serve the country but when one of us goes down, a piece of us all goes down," explained Fairview Heights Police Lieutenant Logan Harris.
And it seems Lieutenant Jonas was a big piece of all of them. So many who came to his funeral knew him as an officer, but he was also a son, a friend, a father, and a husband, and great at all of it.
"To us he was a legend," daughter Jessica McNamee told the congregation. "You can't find anybody to replace him. And for my mother dealing with this it's really hard. You just can't explain how great he was to us."
Jonas's superiors, Centreville Township Supervisor Curtis McCall, Mayor Marius Jackson, and Chief Larry Wynn all choked back tears as they described the lieutenant.
"He was not an officer that needed his name to be plastered in the newspaper," said McCall. "He was not an officer that wanted fame or glory. He was a lieutenant that wanted to serve and protect the citizens of the city of Centerville, and how well he did that. How well he did that."
Jackson brought the congregation to its feet, when he asked them to give Jonas one final salute. They gave Jonas a standing ovation, and another came moments later, when Jackson mentioned the Major Case Squad detectives who, within two days of the murder, arrested 22 year old Lemuel Houston.
Harris said the one thing he knows Jonas will always be remembered for is the respect he had from the citizens. "He's got a rough community to be in, but he was not feared, he was not hated. He was respected. That's all you can ask to be at the end of your day."
An overflow crowd had to watch the funeral on closed circuit TV in a room away from the sanctuary. Speakers were even set up outside so officers who were standing on sidewalks and on the street could listen in, too.
The procession from the church in Centreville to the burial in Millstadt wound through several cities, including Alorton, where Jonas began his law enforcement career.
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