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Philadelphia honors Officer Shane Seiber as funeral procession reaches Center City
A police motorcycle escort brought Shane Seiber’s casket from Northeast Philadelphia to the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul early Tuesday. The 40-year-old officer was killed while responding to a call in West Philadelphia on Oct. 10.
PHILADELPHIA — A police motorcycle escort carried Officer Shane Seiber’s casket through Philadelphia early Tuesday, from Givnish Funeral Home in Northeast Philadelphia to the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Center City, where officers stood in tribute along Broad Street.
The procession began shortly after 5 a.m. Traffic delays were expected as the city gathered for funeral services for Seiber, a 10-year Philadelphia Police Department veteran who was killed in the line of duty at age 40.
Seiber was shot on Oct. 10 while responding to a call in West Philadelphia. His partner, Officer Hector Rodriguez, was also wounded in the ambush. Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said Rodriguez was making a positive recovery and was able to get out of bed, walk and talk.
Seiber was a husband, father of two young children and Air Force veteran who served two tours in Iraq. His wife, Lisa, had been married to him for 11 years. The couple’s children are Finn, 7, and Emily, 3.
Bethel said Seiber, who grew up in Bucks County, had long wanted to become a police officer. Colleagues called him “Colgate,” a reference to his smile. “From the time he was a child, I don’t think he ever stopped smiling,” Bethel said.
“Our goal here today is to show his family that he was part of something special,” Bethel said, adding that the department’s responsibility was to continue caring for Seiber’s family.
On Monday, officers saluted Seiber’s casket as it left the funeral home. His cruiser was also displayed outside on Academy Road, where Lisa spent time beside it before the viewing began.