ZACHARY - Firefighters from around Louisiana and the entire country gathered for a hero's farewell this weekend as the body of fallen fireman and police officer Chris Lawton was escorted through town to his final resting place.

Lawton, who was working as a reserve officer earlier this week, was killed in the line of duty.  He was hit and killed in a shopping center parking lot by a man using a box truck to evade arrest.

"Chris Lawton is the icon of what a public servant should be," State Fire Marshal Butch Browning said.  "For him to be a profession in the fire department and also pursue a profession in law enforcement, speaks to what he was born for."

His funeral bestowed such honors - firemen, policemen, bagpipers and locals packed the service and lined the streets of Zachary for the funeral procession Saturday.

"My mom and me decided to come out here, for what he (did) for the Zachary community," Rachel Chidester said as she and others held flags along the side of the street.

"The man lost his life so tragically, it's unfathomable," she said.

Browning commented: "He fought half the time to keep the Zachary community safe from fire and he fought another half of the time keeping it safe from crime."

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