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Boulder shooting: Memorial service for Officer Eric Talley to be held Tuesday

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Posted 1:24 PM, Mar 30, 2021
and last updated 3:37 PM, Mar 30, 2021

BOULDER, Colo. — The memorial service for fallen officer Eric Talley will be held 11 a.m. local time on Tuesday at Flatirons Community Church in Boulder.

The general public will be allowed to attend, though officials are encouraging supporters to watch the service from home due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Attendees will be required to wear masks. The church will open at 9:30 a.m. and all guest must be seated by 10:45 a.m.

Talley, a 51-year-old father of seven, was the first responding officer to the mass shooting at a Boulder grocery store earlier this month, which left 10 people dead.

"He's everything policing deserves and needs," Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold said. "He cared about this community, he cared about Boulder Police Department, and he cared about his family. And he was willing to die to protect others."

Officials have said Talley's actions, running toward the gunfire, and the actions of other police officers, saved lives.

"He died charging into the line of fire to save people who were simply trying to live their lives and go food shopping," Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said.

Hundreds of supporters lined the streets of Boulder County on Wednesday for a procession that transported Talley's body from the coroner's office to a funeral home in Aurora.

This story was originally published by Ryan Osborne on KMGH in Denver.