Services planned for Phoenix police officer killed in traffic accident
Mar 26, 2019, 4:04 AM
PHOENIX – The Phoenix police officer who died after being hit by a vehicle last week will be laid to rest this week.
In a Facebook post Monday, the Phoenix Police Department said Officer Paul Rutherford’s funeral service will begin at 10 a.m. Thursday at Christ’s Church of the Valley in Peoria.
That will be followed by a procession to the Phoenix Memorial Park and Cemetery in north Phoenix.
Visitation will take place Wednesday at Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Avondale. A public viewing will be from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., followed by mass at 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Rutherford, 51, succumbed to his injuries in the hospital last Thursday after being struck by an SUV while he was working at the scene of a collision near 75th Avenue and Indian School Road.
He is survived by his wife of 30 years, two adult sons, a grandson, his parents, two brothers and a sister.
Rutherford was the second Valley police officer to die this year after being hit by a vehicle.
In January, Salt River Police Officer Clayton Townsend was struck while he was conducting a traffic stop on Loop 101 in Scottsdale.