Police officers and other first responders from across Massachusetts paid tribute to the Auburn police officer killed in the line of duty.
Officer Ronald Tarentino was shot during a traffic stop early Sunday morning and pronounced dead at UMass Memorial Medical Center. Police said the suspect, Jorge Zambrano, was killed hours later during a shootout with officers.
Tarentino’s body was escorted by police to a Leicester funeral home from Boston and police and firefighters lined the streets to salute the hearse. Others parked their squad cars and firetrucks on overpasses above the Mass Pike to pay their respects. Residents joined first responders in welcoming the hearse as it arrived in Leicester.
State Police hosted a comedy benefit in Worcester Sunday to raise money for the family of fallen Trooper Thomas Clardy, who was killed in March when a driver struck his patrol car on the Mass Pike. Organizers of the benefit said it is their job to support the officers’ families after they lose their loved ones.
Tarentino came from a family of police officers. His father is a retired Medford police officer and his uncle is still an officer with that department. The department posted a message on Facebook:
“The loss of yet another police officer’s life hits very close to home for us…please keep the family and friends of Officer Tarentino in your thoughts today.”
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