WATCHUNG — The Watchung police officer struck and killed Saturday by an unlicensed driver was honored by hundreds of fellow police officers and U.S. Air Force personnel at his funeral Thursday in Point Pleasant Beach.
Watchung Police Chief Joseph R . Cina said the only thing Officer Christopher Hoffmann of Brick Township ever wanted to be was a cop, but a fatal motorcycle accident took his life just five days before his 29th birthday, and after only a month on the Watchung force. Lined in formation outside St. Martha's Roman Catholic Church in Point Pleasant were more than 50 active duty U.S. Air Force personnel, as well as over 150 police officers from across Middlesex and Ocean counties. Inside the sanctuary were almost 200 more family, friends, police and military for the funeral mass.
Officer Brian Woodruff, Hoffmann's classmate at the Ocean County Police Academy, said that Hoffmann became their class leader — a position that required bravery and honor. It was a role that Hoffmann was made for, he said.
"His dedication to law enforcement in this country was only rivaled by his commitment to family and friends," Woodruff said. "Rest easy and watch over us, Chris. You will never be forgotten."
Hoffmann's sister Alexis Hoffmann Green said there were no words to express the untimely death of her brother."He achieved his lifetime goal as a police officer," she said, thanking everyone who showed up in her brother's honor. "It means the world to us to see how many lives Chris touched."
After a procession with the hearse, limousines, and nearly 100 police patrol cars, Hoffmann was laid to rest at the Greenwood Cemetery in Brielle.
His gravesite was lined with a color guard of police from various jurisdictions.After the flag folding ceremony and presentation, an Air Force firing squad rang off a 21-gun military salute to Hoffmann, and a bugler from the Ocean County Sheriff's Office played "Taps."
Watchung Police Chief Joseph R . Cina said the only thing Officer Christopher Hoffmann of Brick Township ever wanted to be was a cop, but a fatal motorcycle accident took his life just five days before his 29th birthday, and after only a month on the Watchung force. Lined in formation outside St. Martha's Roman Catholic Church in Point Pleasant were more than 50 active duty U.S. Air Force personnel, as well as over 150 police officers from across Middlesex and Ocean counties. Inside the sanctuary were almost 200 more family, friends, police and military for the funeral mass.
Officer Brian Woodruff, Hoffmann's classmate at the Ocean County Police Academy, said that Hoffmann became their class leader — a position that required bravery and honor. It was a role that Hoffmann was made for, he said.
"His dedication to law enforcement in this country was only rivaled by his commitment to family and friends," Woodruff said. "Rest easy and watch over us, Chris. You will never be forgotten."
Hoffmann's sister Alexis Hoffmann Green said there were no words to express the untimely death of her brother."He achieved his lifetime goal as a police officer," she said, thanking everyone who showed up in her brother's honor. "It means the world to us to see how many lives Chris touched."
After a procession with the hearse, limousines, and nearly 100 police patrol cars, Hoffmann was laid to rest at the Greenwood Cemetery in Brielle.
His gravesite was lined with a color guard of police from various jurisdictions.After the flag folding ceremony and presentation, an Air Force firing squad rang off a 21-gun military salute to Hoffmann, and a bugler from the Ocean County Sheriff's Office played "Taps."
New Jersey Run for the Fallen 2022 ~ Click on photos below to enlarge...