MCCLENNAN COUNTY, TX — From the church in Woodway, the funeral procession headed up interstate 35 through Elm Mott, to the Leon community, and Gerald Cemetery, where they laid
Deputy Jones to rest.
So many agencies pulled together to make Friday's events work, organizer couldn't even count them.
A helicopter flyover in the so-called "Missing Man" formation.
Just one of dozens of moving pieces working in concert, to give a flawless sendoff to Falls County Sheriff's Deputy Matt Jones.
The conductor of this orchestra celebrating the life and accopmplishments of Deputy Jones..... Waco Police Sargent Patrick Swanton.
"The thing that's said over and over again, this is not about any one of us. This is about Deputy Matt Jones," said Swanton.
And so it was, as other law enforcement agencies sent a color guard, or a drum and bagpipe band, and yes, even the helicopters, Deputy Jones burial demonstrated the way officers of the law come together to support their own.
These officers wrapped their thick blanket of security around Deputy Jones' family, giving them a chance to grieve.
"We kept that goal in mind to represent them the best we could, give them the ability to breathe, to take care of theirselves and each other's families and let\ us worry about everything else," Swanton ex[pl
And that's the point. Coming together to support each other and offering a proper sendoff. Giving organizers a chance to take a terrible tragedy and turn it into a tribute.
"It truly is an honor to get to do this for Matt, and represent HIM, in his sendoff goin' home. and, uh, not everybody gets to do that," said Swanton.
They don't. Giving even more reason for the pageantry for those lost in the line of duty.
One group the Sargent mentioned as being particularly helpful, the Texas Line of Duty Death Task force.
