Law enforcement officers and community members packed a Maryland church Friday morning for the funeral of D.C. police officer Terry Bennett, who was hit while helping a stuck driver in December.
At City of Praise Family Ministries in Landover, D.C. Interim Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said Bennett didn鈥檛 鈥渏ust serve this city. He gave his life for it.鈥�
The service came exactly a month after police said Bennett was hit while helping a stranded motorist on Interstate 695.
Bennett was helping a driver whose car broke down in the eastbound lanes of I-695 near South Capitol Street. A passing vehicle hit him just after 10 p.m., police said.
Bennett remained hospitalized after the incident and died in early January.
鈥淗e was resilient and caring,鈥� Carroll said. 鈥淗e was the kind of officer every chief hopes to have, and the kind of colleague every officer hopes to work with.鈥�
Bennett was born and raised in D.C. and had worked in the Metropolitan Police Department for eight years. He graduated from Ballou Senior High School in 2011, and was an assistant football coach there.
Kenny Brown, the school鈥檚 head coach, said Friday that the 鈥渘umber two is officially retired.鈥�
鈥淚f anybody knew Terry, like I鈥檝e been telling people, you can鈥檛 tell him he wasn鈥檛 a founding father of Ballou,鈥� Brown said.
First District Cmdr. Colin Hall reflected on presenting Bennett with a first district officer of the month award after Bennett had helped close a robbery case.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not a surprise he was doing what heroes do,鈥� Hall said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what he did. He was called to act.鈥�
Bennett was an organ donor, and during the service, Maya Jai Pinson said she had end-stage kidney failure and received one of Bennett鈥檚 kidneys.
鈥淥fficer Bennett didn’t receive a second chance, but he made sure that others would, and because of that plan, I was given a second chance at life,鈥� Pinson said.
When the service concluded, dozens of police, National Guard members and D.C. Fire and EMS officials lined M Street near the First District station.
They saluted as the procession drove by underneath a large American flag attached to the ladders from two fire trucks.
Bennett鈥檚 car, covered with flowers and stuffed animals, remains parked in front of the police station, with his photo on the windshield.
Jerrold Coates, 47, of Northwest D.C., was arrested and charged with second-degree murder while armed in Bennett鈥檚 death.
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