Family members and fellow officers spoke at an emotional funeral ceremony Thursday morning for Hayward police Sgt. Scott Lunger, who was slain during a traffic stop last week.
Lunger, 48, a Brentwood resident and 15-year veteran of the Hayward Police Department, was shot and killed after pulling over a truck driving erratically near Myrtle and Lion streets early on the morning of July 22.
Thousands of people, including many police officers from around the Bay Area, came to honor Lunger at the funeral this morning at Oracle Arena in Oakland.
Fighting back tears, the sergeant's father, Paul Lunger, said, "You were my son and my sunshine, you brightened my days."
Lunger's daughter Saralyn Lunger called him "the bravest man I know."
"Even though the pain of missing him will never go away, my mom, my sister and my family will survive this because we were the luckiest people in the world to have him in our lives," she said.
Police Chief Diane Urban spoke at length about Lunger and his time at the department.
"Scott personified the warrior spirit in everything he did," Urban said. "He was an example of how we should live our lives everyday."
Lunger's friend and fellow Sgt. Brian Maloney offered moments of levity during the ceremony, including playing a video clip of Lunger leading a rendition of Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline."
Maloney also offered memories of Lunger's commitment to the job.
"I can't put into words his level of tenacity and passion for working the street," he said.
Former Alameda County prosecutor and current U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell called Lunger "a warrior, a hero" who always presented thoroughly investigated cases to the district attorney's office that led to guilty pleas.
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Swalwell told Lunger's family, "You shared Scott with us for 15 years. During that 15 years, the city of Hayward was safer."
Following the ceremony, which was still taking place as of noontime, Lunger's body will be taken to its final resting place in
Brentwood.
Mark Estrada, 21, was the truck driver who allegedly shot Lunger without warning during the traffic stop, police said. Lunger's partner returned fire at the truck, which fled the scene. Lunger was taken to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, where he died.
Estrada later showed up at a hospital with gunshot wounds and was eventually arrested and charged with killing Lunger.
