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Hundreds line streets to pay final respects to fallen Canonsburg police officer

CANONSBURG, Pa. — Hundreds of law enforcement officers and community members lined the streets of Canonsburg on Wednesday to say their final goodbyes to a colleague who was slain in the line of duty.

The procession for Officer Scott Bashioum started at the Washington Wild Things ballpark, where officers from departments across the nation gathered before they headed to the church service at the Church of the Covenant in Washington, Pennsylvania. He was laid to rest at the Cemetery of the Alleghenies.

RAW VIDEO: Procession to funeral for fallen Canonsburg Officer Scott Bashioum

RAW VIDEO: Fallen Canonsburg officer remembered by community, law enforcement

PHOTOS: Hundreds of police officers pay final respects to fallen colleague

VIDEO: Fallen Officer Scott Bashioum’s wife delivers emotional eulogy at funeral

Bashioum’s family asked the Slovan Volunteer Fire Department in Burgettstown to escort the fallen officer’s casket. Bashioum had been a volunteer firefighter with the department since he was 18 years old.

Police and fire vehicles, as well as members of law enforcement from coast to coast, were in attendance for the procession.

State police, who helped organize the funeral and the processions to and from the Church of the Covenant, said more than 340 police vehicles and 800 officers from across the country gathered to honor Bashioum.

"Immediately, as soon as we heard he passed, we started receiving inquiries from all over the country," Canonsburg police Chief Al Coghill said.

Slovan Fire Chief Brandon Kriznik described Bashioum as someone who was born to serve.

Bashioum was killed, and fellow Canonsburg police Officer James Saieva Jr. was injured Nov. 10 when Michael Cwiklinski shot both with a rifle from a second-floor window as the officers approached a duplex, responding to a report that Cwiklinski was fighting with his pregnant wife. Saieva was released from a Pittsburgh hospital, where he had been recovering from his injuries, and served Wednesday as an honorary pall bearer.

The 47-year-old gunman also shot and killed his pregnant wife, Dalia Sabae, 28. Sebae's visitation will be held Thursday from 2-8 p.m. at Salandra Funeral Home & Cremation Services. On Friday at 1:30 p.m., a dove will be released at the Oaks Spring Road Cemetery in her memory. On Saturday, a memorial for Sebae and other victims of domestic violence will take place at 11 a.m. at the Canonsburg Borough Building. Everyone is invited to attend and is asked to wear purple in her memory.

On Wednesday, officers from several departments took care of Canonsburg police calls so that officers from the town could attend Bashioum's funeral. More than 50 schools and day cares were either closed or on a modified schedule Wednesday because of the expected traffic as a result of the 15-mile funeral procession.

Bashioum's wife, Ashley Bashioum, gave a moving eulogy, saying her husband was "the best friend anyone could ever ask for," was adored by their four children and was always chasing "bigger dreams."

"His job was to run toward danger, never from it. He was so brave and so courageous," Ashley Bashioum said. "The sadness of his absence will never end."

Bashioum and his wife met when he worked for the streets department in Smith Township, another Washington County community. But she said, "He had bigger dreams" and went on to serve 29 years in the Air Force, including in the Persian Gulf War and the reserves, and spent the last seven as an officer in Canonsburg.

Ashley Bashioum told a story about a gift she gave her husband when they first started dating, saying she unwrapped 365 Hershey kisses, wrote something she loved about him on each and wrapped them back up so he could read a new one each day.

She said she could have continued writing the messages for several years because she loved so much about him.

“I don’t think there was a dry eye in that church when she got done. I know mine weren't,” Washington County District Attorney Gene Vittone said.

Vittone was one of many touched by Ashley Bashioum’s strength and love.

“Her love for Scott, you could see it in the words she said and her need to express it,” he said.

Outside the church, hundreds of officers stood and listened to speakers, along with members of the community.

Ashley Bashioum told the crowd that she will remind her children every day how much their father loved them, and she touched on her plans to make a difference in her husband’s name.

“In the aftermath of this senseless tragedy, we promise to do our very best to strengthen bonds between police officers and the community,” she said.

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