Honoring a Fallen Colleague : 1,400 Attend Rites for Officer Killed by Train While on Duty

A somber sense of loss swept through Orange County on Tuesday as an estimated 1,400 mourners gathered to bid farewell to Terry L. Fincher, a veteran Brea police detective who was killed in line of duty last week.

A procession of more than 300 vehicles, stretching almost 3 miles, escorted Fincher’s body from the Fullerton church where services were held to the Whittier cemetery where he was laid to rest. Fincher, 48, who dedicated 16 years to the Brea Police Department, was lauded as a man of integrity, sharp police instincts and tenderness.

“If the bad guy was bigger than you, you wanted Terry to watch your back,” said Pastor Steve Biffle, a close family friend. “If your life was broken, you wanted Terry by your side.”

Representatives of many law enforcement agencies--from Orange County to Fincher’s hometown Chino to Los Angeles--attended the funeral at the Evangelical Free Church.

Hundreds of officers tied black ribbons to their badges to symbolize the loss of a colleague, the first Brea officer killed on the job.

It was poignant that Fincher’s funeral came the day after Memorial Day. The officer had served with distinction during the Vietnam War.

Fincher was killed last Wednesday when, as other officers shouted warnings, a freight train struck him during a search along the tracks for a weapon used in a recent crime.

“Only a locomotive could take out this super cop,” Biffle said during the service.

Fincher began and ended his law enforcement career with the Brea police, working at various times as a homicide detective and a hostage negotiator, among other duties.

He was awarded the department’s Medal of Honor in 1987 and was held in high regard by fellow officers, who voted him as Associate of the Year and Officer of the Year on separate occasions.

Many considered Fincher an exemplary officer, a “complete package,” said Brea Police Officer Chuck Croix.

“In my heart, Terry will never die,” said Brea Police Chief William C. Lentini, who called the funeral service a celebration of Fincher’s life and achievements. “A loss of one is a loss for us all.”

In a poem, friend and partner Det. Jerry Brakebill told the legacy Fincher left: “For nothing loved is lost . . . for he was loved so much.”

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Fincher, a lively man with thinning light brown hair, loved to fish and play guitar.

He worked without a watch because he was concerned not with counting time but making time count, according to those close to him.

On Tuesday, time seemed suspended as the funeral procession slowly moved to the burial site at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier. Traffic along Brea Boulevard and the Orange and Pomona freeways was halted for miles.

Strangers and local residents interrupted their noontime activities and came out on the sidewalks to pay tribute to the officer. Some bowed their heads as the motorcade leading the procession passed. Others visibly cried for a man they had never met.

At the burial service, a fresh breeze blew through the crowd just as four police helicopters flew over. Six pallbearers then removed the American flag that covered the wooden casket. They stood rigidly, neatly folding the flag.

Chief Lentini delivered the flag to Fincher’s wife, Brenda, who was composed and kept her eyes lowered. She and her two daughters ended the ceremony by approaching the casket, upon which each gently placed a rose and a soft kiss.

Silence fell and the crowd melted away.

“He was one of the best,” said Brea Police Capt. Tom Christian. “He was tough, fair and honest. We certainly will miss him.”

Besides his wife and daughters Edie and Melissa, Fincher is survived by sons Erik and Nathan and two grandsons.