Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery

Officer Verdell Smith epitomized these traits, said Mike Williams, president of the Memphis Police Association.Friday, law enforcement, elected officials and citizens filled Hope Presbyterian Church in Cordova to give Smith a final salute.Smith, 46, was killed on June 4 when he was hit by a suspect fleeing police. He dashed into the street to protect citizens from the suspect driving a car the wrong way down a one-way street.Smith sacrificed his life to save the lives of others. On and off duty he personified the shield that he wore on his uniform for 18 years.As Smith's children, Chelsea and Verdell Jr., took to the stage to talk about their father, they delivered a moving tribute that had the audience in tears at the 5,000-seat sanctuary."It is crazy because every time my life got hectic or I needed somebody to talk to about boys, mom getting on my nerves, VJ (her brother) ain't acting right, school's hard, I would call my daddy," Chelsea Smith said. "Now life's hectic cause he's not here. It's hard, but I want y'all to know that God's timing is perfect. My daddy did everything he was supposed to do before God took him away."She added, "I need to ask God for understanding and know that he took my daddy away so that this city can come together for love."Verdell Smith Jr., who is the spitting image of his father, including his smile, thanked the citizens and the police department for their outpouring of love and support."My dad was asked not what the city could do for him, but what he could do for the city," Verdell Smith Jr. said.Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, one of the several elected officials who attended the service, lamented over the death of Smith."It's extraordinarily sad, these men and women are here to protect and serve us, and unfortunately that puts them in situations where these things happen," said Strickland said. "Officer Smith literally died saving people's lives."Smith, a Memphis native and Whitehaven High School graduate, is the fourth officer in Memphis to die in the line of duty in the last five years.Interim Memphi...