Slain Edmonton Const. Daniel Woodall laid to rest.

EDMONTON • In a still and quiet hall Wednesday, slain Edmonton police Const. Daniel Woodall was remembered as a valued friend and colleague who had strength, compassion and a mischievous sense of humour.

Edmonton police Chief Rod Knecht said the days since Norman Raddatz shot and killed Woodall while he was on the job have been ragged and devastating, but the “positive energy” from the community “has lifted us all in these very dark days.”

Knecht told the silent crowd at the Shaw Conference Centre that Wednesday was a day to pay tribute to Woodall, a man who made a difference, but whose life’s work was cut short.

“We will never forge t,” Knecht said.

Woodall, 35, a husband and father of two, was shot and killed and Sgt. Jason Harley was wounded June 8 while attempting to serve a warrant to Raddatz at his west Edmonton home.

Raddatz killed himself after the shooting.

Woodall was with the Edmonton Police Service for eight years and recently worked in the hate-crimes unit.

He helped those who were “abused or bullied by others,” Knecht said.

“Today we gather alone, without Dan, but with those who loved him so dearly,” Edmonton police chaplain Lawrence Peck told the more than 5,000 who packed the conference centre.

“We’ve come to be with each other and we’ve come to be with God. We’ve come and shared our tears together, our stories together and our grief together.”

Police officers from across Canada and around the world marched through the streets of downtown to the conference centre to honour Woodall.

Residents lined the streets and stood on rooftops to watch the funeral procession pass. Many wiped away tears.

One of those in the crowd was Mohamed Hussein and his mother, Aeibado.

He said it was important for them to come and show they are members of the EPS family and the community, and to recognize Woodall.

“We came to give respect to a fallen officer, fighting against hate,” he said.

Claire Woodall, the officer’s widow, thanked Edmontonians for their support over the last week.

“There are really no words great enough to express my love and gratitude to the City of Edmonton. You have shown so much love and support to myself, my family, and all first responders,” Claire Woodall said in written a statement.

She and her two young boys, Gabe, 6, and Callen, 4, watched the regimental funeral procession from outside the Shaw Conference Centre.

The boys took pictures of the procession with green iPads.

We came to give respect to a fallen officer, fighting against hate

LARRY WONG / EDMONTON JOURNAL Callen Woodall, 4, left, and brother Gabe, 6, taking photos with bright green tablets, and their mother Claire Woodall, right in glasses, watch the funeral parade Wednesday in Edmonton in tribute of their father and husband, slain police officer Daniel Woodall.