Slain officer’s funeral limited to 200 people

HOT SPRINGS — The funeral for Hot Springs police officer Brent Scrimshire, who was killed in the line of duty Tuesday evening, is set for Monday at Bank OZK Arena in Hot Springs but will be limited to 200 people because of coronavirus concerns.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Saturday afternoon that three more Arkansans had tested positive for the coronavirus, including one who became infected through the state’s first apparent case of “community spread,” meaning the person did not have contact with another person who has traveled from an area where the virus is spreading.

To accommodate people unable to attend Monday’s funeral, officials have set up other ways for them to pay their respects.

Scrimshire’s body will “lie in state” from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., a time during which people can enter the Hot Springs Convention Center at a designated entrance and pay respects to Scrimshire in Horner Hall.

A private service will follow at 2 p.m. with a limit of 200 people, including the officer’s family and Hot Springs police officers.

The procession and interment will follow the service and private family viewing. The procession will extend from the Hot Springs Convention Center to Oakridge Cemetery in Malvern.

“This schedule is subject to change based on the ongoing coronavirus outbreak and response,” Cpl. Joey Williams, the Police Department’s public information officer, said in a post on the department’s Facebook page Friday evening. “The Hot Springs Police Department continues to work closely with the Scrimshire family, City Hall and other officials to follow recommendations from the governor’s office and the Arkansas Department of Health.”

A U.S. Honor Flag is an American flag that has traveled millions of miles since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. It has traveled to the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, traveled aboard the last space shuttle launch in 2011 and has honored thousands of Americans in law enforcement, fire, emergency services, and members of the U.S. armed forces.

Scrimshire, 33, was fatally shot during a traffic stop in the 100 block of Kenwood Street around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Kayvon Moshawn Ward, 21, and Coriama Hernandez, 20, were charged Thursday with capital murder and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.

Hernandez was in custody on an Arkansas State police hold when she was served with the warrant, and Ward, who had been hospitalized for treatment of injuries he received during the gunfire exchange, was released from the hospital late Thursday .