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Funeral Mass celebrated Monday for slain Boulder officer

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Monday, March 29, 2021 2:35 PM
Signs, floral bouquets and tributes stand along side a police cruiser parked in front of the Boulder, Colo., Police Department in honor of fallen officer Eric Talley, who was one of 10 victims in a mass shooting at a King Soopers grocery store, before a news conference about the ongoing investigation outside police headquarters Friday, March 26, 2021, in Boulder.
A sign is flanked by floral bouquets placed on the temporary fence put up around the parking lot of a King Soopers grocery store Thursday, March 25, 2021, in Boulder, Colo. Ten people were killed in a mass shooting at the supermarket on Monday.
Candles for the victims of a shooting days earlier at a King Soopers grocery store burn as mourners gather for a vigil late Thursday, March 25, 2021, at Fairview High School in Boulder.
Jacqui Mirell of Boulder, stops to look at a tribute outside the store owned by one of 10 victims in the mass shooting at a Boulder King Soopers grocery store Wednesday, March 24, 2021, in Boulder, Colo. Mirell shopped at the store.
Boulder, Colo., Police Department Chief Maris Herold listens as Boulder County, Colo., District Attorney Michael Dougherty makes a point to outline the ongoing investigation into the mass shooting at a King Soopers grocery store during a news conference outside police headquarters Friday, March 26, 2021, in Boulder.
Mourners walk the temporary fence around a King Soopers grocery store, which is where multiple victims died in a mass shooting, Wednesday, March 24, 2021, in Boulder.
A mourner leaves a bouquet of flowers along a fence put up around the parking lot where a mass shooting took place in a King Soopers grocery store Tuesday, March 23, 2021, in Boulder.

DENVER – A Roman Catholic funeral Mass was being celebrated Monday for a Colorado police officer shot and killed after rushing into a supermarket where a gunman had opened fire.

The draped casket of Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley, 51, was flanked by six candles during a traditional Latin Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver. Seating was limited because of COVID-19 restrictions but the service was being shown on a livestream provided by the Archdiocese of Denver that is also being shown on television stations.

Talley’s family planned to attend the service but has asked that they not be shown during the Mass, which is being conducted in the style that pre-dated reforms made by the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, the archdiocese said.

According to police, Talley led an initial team of officers into the store on March 22 within 30 seconds of arriving and the suspect, later identified as Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, shot at the officers, killing Talley.

“No other individuals were shot or killed after these brave officers engaged the suspect,” police said in a tweet last week.

Alissa, who was wounded in the leg during an exchange of shots with police, has been charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder for firing at another officer. Prosecutors expect to file more charges as the investigation continues.

One of Alissa’s public defenders, Kathryn Herold, told a judge during his first court appearance that they needed to assess Alissa’s mental illness but did not provide details about his condition.

Talley, who grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, took an untraditional route to becoming a police officer. He held a master’s degree in computer communications but left his office job to join the department in 2010 at the age of 40 because he wanted to serve his community, his father Homer “Shay” Talley, 74, told The Associated Press last week.

Talley was a devoted father to seven children and “knew the Lord,” his father said.

A memorial service was also planned for Talley on Tuesday at a large non-denominational church, Flatirons Community Church, in Lafayette. The service is open to the general public but attendance is also restricted because of the pandemic. Organizers are encouraging people to watch a livestream of the service on television news stations.

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