Farewell to a great guy, a great officer

Senior Sergeant Richard Ryan made his final journey through the city he served yesterday as 500 police lined a Christchurch street to honour him.

The father-of-four died on Tuesday morning, surrounded by family. He was moved to a hospice last Thursday as his condition worsened.

Ryan was diagnosed with a terminal form of cancer in May that had spread to his kidneys and bones. Chemotherapy and radiation were said to be unsuitable to treat the illness.

A hearse bearing Ryan’s casket, draped in a New Zealand flag, left his funeral at St Mary’s Procathedral Church about 11am through a tunnel of blue as his colleagues from across Canterbury stood to attention.

Police lining the street struggled to hold back tears as the ‘‘great guy, a great officer and a very good community man’’ was lowered into the hearse.