A procession of Huntington Beach police cruisers and officers on motorcycles escort the body of Officer Nicholas Vella, a pilot who died Saturday when his helicopter crashed into Newport Harborfrom the Orange County coroner’s office to the morgue in La Habra Tuesday afternoon.
A brief, freezing downpour soaked hundreds of mourners – including Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley, District Attorney Todd Spitzer, and dozens of officers from police departments across the county – who People lined up along Shelton Street just outside the coroner’s office to pay their respects around 1pm.
A heron leads a parade for Huntington Beach Police Officer Nicholas Vella in La Habra, CA on Tuesday, February 22, 2022. Nicholas Vella, a 14-year veteran of the Beach Police Department Huntington, died Saturday when his helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor. The procession was taken from the Orange County coroner’s office to the Community Funeral Service in La Habra. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register / SCNG)
Members of regional law enforcement salute outside the Orange County Coroner’s office in Santa Ana on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, as the body of Huntington Beach Officer Nicholas Vella takes on the body. , who was killed when a police helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor in Newport Beach, leaving to check in to an area funeral home. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register / SCNG)
Firefighters salute during the procession of Huntington Beach Police Officer Nicholas Vella in La Habra, CA on Tuesday, February 22, 2022. Nicholas Vella, a 14-year veteran of the Huntington Beach Police Department, died Saturday when his helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register / SCNG)
La Habra police officers salute during the procession of Huntington Beach Police Officer Nicholas Vella in La Habra, CA on Tuesday, February 22, 2022. Nicholas Vella, a 14-year veteran of the Huntington Beach Police Department , died Saturday when his helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor. The procession was taken from the Orange County coroner’s office to the Community Funeral Service in La Habra. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register / SCNG)
Family members talk about Huntington Beach Police Department Officer Nicholas Vella after a procession from the Orange County coroner’s office to Community Funeral Services in La Habra, CA on Tuesday, Feb. 2022. Vella, a 14-year veteran of the Huntington Beach Police Department, died Saturday when his helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register / SCNG)
People embrace as hundreds of members of regional law enforcement stand along the street outside the Orange County Coroner’s office in Santa Ana on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, just before the exam. The body of Huntington Beach Officer Nicholas Vella, who was killed when the police helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor in Newport Beach, leaves taken to a funeral home in the area. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register / SCNG)
Members of regional law enforcement stand with their hearts to their hearts outside the Orange County Coroner’s office in Santa Ana on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, during the exam. The body of Huntington Beach Officer Nicholas Vella, who was killed when a police helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor in Newport Beach, leaves enrollment to an area funeral home. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register / SCNG)
A decal for Huntington Beach Police Nicholas Vella is posted on a Huntington Beach fire truck during a procession in La Habra, CA on Tuesday, February 22, 2022. Nicholas Vella, a 14-year veteran of the Police Department of Huntington Beach, died Saturday when his helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor. His casket procession from the Orange County coroner’s office to the Community Funeral Service in La Habra. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register / SCNG)
Members of the Huntington Beach police carry the coffin of Officer Nicholas Vella during a procession from the Orange County coroner’s office to the Community Funeral Service in La Habra, CA on Tuesday, February 22, 2022 Nicholas Vella, a 14-year veteran of the Huntington Beach Police Department, died Saturday when his helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register / SCNG)
A law enforcement vehicle moves in a procession from the Orange County Coroner’s office in Santa Ana on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, the body of Huntington Beach Officer Nicholas Vella, who was killed. was killed when a police helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor in Newport Beach, enrolling in an area funeral home. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register / SCNG)
Members of the Huntington Beach Police Department stand with their hearts in their hearts outside the Orange County Coroner’s office in Santa Ana on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, the body of Huntington Beach Officer Nicholas Vella, who was killed when a police helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor in Newport Beach, leaves the funeral home in the area. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register / SCNG)
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer, center, stands with his heart outside the Orange County Coroner’s office in Santa Ana on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, as the body of Huntington Beach Officer Nicholas arrives Vella, who was killed when the police helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor in Newport Beach, leaves taken to a funeral home in the area. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register / SCNG)
People embrace as hundreds of members of regional law enforcement stand along the street outside the Orange County Coroner’s office in Santa Ana on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, just before the exam. The body of Huntington Beach Officer Nicholas Vella, who was killed when the police helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor in Newport Beach, leaves taken to a funeral home in the area. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register / SCNG)
A pickpocket leads a procession as hundreds of members of area law enforcement stand along the street outside the Orange County Coroner’s office in Santa Ana on Tuesday, Feb. in 2022, when the body of Huntington Beach Officer Nicholas Vella, who was killed when a Police Helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor in Newport Beach, took the person to a funeral home in the area. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register / SCNG)
People embrace as hundreds of members of regional law enforcement stand along the street outside the Orange County Coroner’s office in Santa Ana on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, just before the exam. The body of Huntington Beach Officer Nicholas Vella, who was killed when the police helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor in Newport Beach, leaves taken to a funeral home in the area. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register / SCNG)
Family members of Huntington Beach police officer Nicholas Vella embrace during a procession from the Orange County coroner’s office to Community Funeral Services in La Habra, CA on Tuesday, February 22, 2022. Vella, a 14-year veteran of the Huntington Beach Police Department, died Saturday when his helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register / SCNG)
Members of regional law enforcement salute outside the Orange County Coroner’s office in Santa Ana on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, as the body of Huntington Beach Officer Nicholas Vella takes on the body. , who was killed when a police helicopter crashed into Newport Harbor in Newport Beach, leaving to check in to an area funeral home. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register / SCNG)
After the Vella family exited the office, some openly weeping, a pickpocket escorted their car down the street as the sun came up.
The procession heads north up Highway 57 towards the Community Funeral Service on Beach Avenue in La Habra.
“It’s heartbreaking,” said Ann Flores, a local resident in the vicinity just west of the coroner’s office to monitor the proceedings.
Vella was killed Saturday when his helicopter plunged into the waters just off the southernmost tip of the Lido Peninsula in Newport Harbor.
He and another officer inside the division’s McDonnell Douglas 500N helicopter were in the air for about half an hour before they received a call to the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach to report a skirmish.
Minutes after they arrived in the area and hovered over Balboa Avenue, their helicopter plunged into the harbor.
An investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board said Sunday that one of them reported mechanical problems shortly before the crash.
However, the official cause of the crash has yet to be announced. Officials said the NTSB’s investigation into the crash could last from a year to 18 months.
Steven Booth stood in a nearby corner as the procession prepared to leave. Beside him was Henry, a calm and friendly golden retriever with burgundy fur, lying on the sidewalk at his feet.
Henry, a K9 crisis comforter for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, is wearing a forest green vest with his name embroidered on it. Henry and Booth, his handler and a retired Sheriff’s Department employee, had to go through many traumatic scenes that affected local police departments.
“Our job is just to bring a little comfort to people during difficult times – that means listening to them, or shedding a few tears,” Booth said as a group of delegates stroked. Henry.
Vella’s death was particularly difficult for Huntington Beach police. Highly specialized units such as the airline service are known for cultivating a deep sense of community among their members.
“They’re a very tight-knit group,” says Booth.
https://www.ocregister.com/2022/02/22/procession-for-officer-killed-in-helicopter-crash-brings-out-hundreds-of-mourners/ Procession for Huntington Beach officer killed in helicopter crash brings hundreds of mourning – Orange County Register
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