Funeral procession for officer to hamper some West Valley traffic

PHOENIX — Drivers in some parts of the West Valley should plan for delays or to take a different route Thursday when a funeral procession for a fallen El Mirage police officer will move through the area.

The Surprise Police Department said the closures will begin about 9:45 a.m. as mourners of officer Paul Lazinsky make their way to a church.

The procession will head west from a home near Sarival Road down Bell Road to the Loop 303, where it will travel one mile south to Greenway Road.

It will then head east on Greenway Road for one mile before going north on Reems Road.

The procession will end at Radiant Church, located near Reems Road and Paradise Lane, where the funeral will be held.

Nine intersections will be closed for the procession. Police said they closures should not last more than 15 minutes, but traffic backups could take longer to clear.

Lazinsky died unexpectedly earlier this month after he had a seizure while chasing a suspect.

“To my knowledge, this may be the first police officer to die in the line of duty for the El Mirage Police Department,” Police Chief Terry McDonald said at the time.

A viewing will be held Wednesday night at Dignity Funeral Home in Surprise.

Gov. Doug Ducey said flags will be flown at half-staff on the day Lazinsky is buried.

Lazinsky was expected to retire next year after starting at the department in 2000. He served 20 years in the Army before becoming a police officer.

He is survived by a wife and three children.

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