An officer who dedicated his life to protecting the streets of Montgomery was remembered a memorial service Tuesday morning.
Corporal Detective Kenneth Armstrong gave up his life trying to help somebody else. He did not have to turn his car around to respond to a robbery. He did because he was in the neighborhood. That is when he was killed trying to get there.
Outside Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church there was the music from the bagpipes, while inside the ceremony included many words of condolences. There were the flowers from loved ones and friends as well as officers and firefighters here from all over the state, and there were Armstrong's ashes that rested in an urn in the middle of a bed of roses.
The ceremony ended with a final tribute with a 21 gun salute as his wife and other family members looked on. Those who worked with Armstrong say they will never forget him.
Thornton Bester was Armstrong's partner says, "It's difficult for everybody. I really can not describe it. There are days when I'm ok, since this happened, and there are also days when I'm not so ok. So, it's difficult."
Detective Jeff Walker was Armstrong's trainer. He says, "I got a call about 7:05 in the morning. I jumped up came down here. Lot of things going through my mind at that point, and when I found out he passed it hurt. He is a brother to us. So, it hurt a lot."
Armstrong's wife was given Armstrong's actual badge-framed that he wore the day he was killed. Corporal Armstrong is the third Montgomery police officer to die in the last year.
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