Family, colleagues of deceased sheriff’s deputy upset over funeral

WFAA Dallas TX ^ | July 13th, 2018 | Teresa Woodard

[Mariner]

DALLAS – When Dallas County Sheriff’s Deputy Omar Calderon was laid to rest on July 5, his funeral was a solemn salute.

A 40-year-old father of three, Calderon took his own life after a battle with depression. “He was so sad, I mean it was obvious,” said his widow ShaRonda Calderon. The couple had been married since 2012 and together since 2001.

“If you needed him, he’d be there,” she said. “That’s what I fell in love with. If I needed something, he would be there. That’s what makes a perfect police officer.”

Her husband’s funeral was a tribute, but not what she, a one-time sheriff’s department employee, expected. “There were a lot of things that I was told should have happened that didn’t happen,” she said.

Honoring officers who lose their lives is a delicate, dignified process.

The Dallas County Sheriff’s department uses what are called general orders as their guideline for protocol.

The orders explicitly state Calderon would not receive full honors – those are reserved for line of duty deaths – but the orders do state that deputies who die while off-duty are to be given an officer standing watch beside the casket, an honor guard, a bugler, and a final call broadcasting their badge numbers on the radio.

Those things did not happen, even though ShaRonda said she wanted them.

[BobL]

“Why does a cop who does not die in the line of duty deserve anything more than any other person who dies?”

On top of that, I have a problem with someone who takes their own life, leaving kids behind. In fact, I gave up some risky things, like riding motorcycles, until my kids grew up. God may still take their father away from them while they’re young, but I wasn’t going to help Him do it.

[lepton]

wakes are to ensure they are actually dead before burying them.

[trisham]

Correct. My grandfather was waked on the kitchen table.