Thousands of police officers from across the country gathered in Philadelphia on Tuesday to bury Officer Shane Seiber, who was shot and killed in the line of duty on Oct. 10. During the funeral at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel announced that Seiber had been posthumously promoted to the rank of sergeant.
Seiber had served 10 years with the Philadelphia Police Department after a decade in the U.S. Air Force, which included two tours in Iraq. Officers from Pennsylvania and other states filled the memorial service to honor him.
Prosecutors say Seiber and his partner were responding to a report of a man waving a gun in West Philadelphia when a man identified as Eric Lewis approached them from behind and asked what they were doing on his doorstep. An argument and struggle followed, and prosecutors allege Lewis then opened fire, striking Seiber three times and his partner 12 times. Lewis was taken into custody after a standoff with SWAT officers; he was allegedly carrying two handguns — one belonging to the officers — and a shotgun.
Seiber’s partner has been identified by FOX 29 Philadelphia as Officer Hector Rodriguez III, a 33-year-old father of five, who survived his injuries.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said Lewis, 35, had previously been acquitted in a murder trial, a result Krasner attributed to a
