Alec Sanders, the fallen Alhambra officer, is remembered, honored during his funeral

They came, scores of uniformed officers, others wearing black, from West Covina and Glendale and San Diego, to honor Alec Sanders, the fallen Alhambra officer.

His fiancée was here with his badge hanging from her neck.

Manny Salguero, a sheriff’s deputy from Bastrop County, Texas, who had known Sanders since high school, and his wife were here, too.

So was Paolo Garcia, from Sanders’ church, St. Peter Claver, in Simi Valley. Before the casket went inside the large Shepherd Church in Porter Ranch for the funeral services on Tuesday morning, Dec. 9, the priest did a blessing over it and handed out crosses to family members.

On Nov, 20, about 3 a.m., Alhambra police were in pursuit of a reported stolen SUV and that vehicle and Sander’s patrol car collided at Valley Boulevard and Edgewood Drive in Alhambra. Sanders was 28.

(The suspect has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder, a passenger of his died; one count of reckless driving causing injury; and two counts of fleeing a pursuing officer’s vehicle causing death.)

With the department for eight months, Sanders had previously worked for the Long Beach Police Department. The night he was killed, he was covering an overnight shift for another officer.

The family requested that media members not go inside the church during the service, but they were invited to shoot photographs outside.

During a vigil last month, Police Chief Garrett Kennedy recalled his officer with fondness. Sanders offered enthusiasm, routinely taking on overtime shifts and seeking opportunities to improve and to earn the community’s trust.

“Every shift, he walked through those doors with purpose, with drive, with pride to wear the badge,” the chief said. “He was the kind of officer who reminded us why we chose this path.”