APD Officer Daniel Webster honored at memorial service

There was not a single empty seat inside the Kiva Auditorium on the day the community said goodbye to Albuquerque Police Officer Daniel Webster.

Tuesday, all 2,300 seats were filled with Officer Webster’s family, friends and fellow law enforcement officers. Even people who didn’t know Officer Webster attended his funeral service inside the Albuquerque Convention Center.

Webster, 47, was an officer with APD for almost nine years. He died last Thursday, eight days after he was shot during a traffic stop at Central Avenue and Eubank Boulevard.

As the service started, family pictures of Webster and his loved ones flashed on two video screens above the crowd. Fellow law enforcement officers saluted as the officer’s casket, draped by an American flag, was carried into the auditorium.

The best friend of Officer Webster’s widow delivered the eulogy, talking about the 20 years he spent in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper before joining the Albuquerque Police Department.

“Dan loved to be on his Harley, work in his garden, cook, play chess on his phone and play with his new puppy, Sage, a very high-energy German shepherd. Dan was a very private man and enjoyed his time home alone with his wife and their dogs. Lastly, Dan loved his job and always went to work with a smile,” Christy Miller said.

Officer Webster is survived by his three adult children, Rebecca, Danielle and Ashleigh, and his wife, Michelle Carlino-Webster, who is a Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputy.

Watch: Daughters read scriptures at Officer Webster’s funeral

“Dan thought he was Batman, and in a way, he really was,” Carlino-Webster said during the memorial service at the Kiva Auditorium in the Albuquerque Convention Center. “He really loved his job and protecting people.”

Carlino-Webster shared several stories about Webster, calling him a “goober,” a true man of servitude and a cop with the highest integrity.

Watch: Officer Webster’s wife delivers informal eulogy

“All of us have a job to do, we have to continue his legacy,” she said. “We can make a difference. I will be that voice for you, Dan. I will be your advocate.”

Carlino-Webster also thanked the Albuquerque community for its support, saying Officer Webster would have been overwhelmed.

Gov. Susana Martinez also spoke during the service and discussed the day Webster saved a baby’s life by performing CPR.

“Albuquerque’s superhero officer, Dan Webster, looking down on us today and every day that you put on that uniform—everyone in this building—when you put on that uniform, he is with you because he understands that just a simple citation, a simple incident can become deadly. And that is why we must pull together as a city and community in the name of Dan.”

Watch: Gov. Susana Martinez speaks at Officer Webster’s funeral

Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden spoke of Webster’s service in the U.S. Army and with the department, saying he had a servant’s heart.

“We, the Albuquerque Police Department, were blessed the day he came to work for us. He demonstrated his leadership in the academy, he demonstrated an attitude of caring and courage and a word that I heard in the hospital from many, many people was he rescued them,” Eden said.

Watch: Chief Eden speaks at Officer Webster’s funeral

Watch: APD Officer Reads “Sheepdog” and “Warrior’s Creede”

So many people showed up for the funeral service that organizers had to set up an overflow roomwhere people could watch the service through a video feed.

Following the service, community members wearing blue lined the streets for the officer’s procession. The route was decorated with blue ribbons and banners on Monday and gifts were left at the Strong Thorne Chapel of Daniels Funeral Home.

The funeral procession for Officer Daniel Webster made a stop at the Albuquerque Police Department’s main substation for his final dispatch Tuesday.

Listen: Final dispatch call for Officer Webster

Military funeral honors were performed at Vista Verde Memorial Park in Rio Rancho. A handful of military planes and helicoptersperformed a flyover at the honors service.

View: Funeral Procession Route

Watch: KOB’s earlier coverage from 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.

See photos from the service and procession below. On a mobile device? Click here.

–With Elizabeth Reed. This story was originally published at KOB.com