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Hundreds Show Their Support For Pierson Family, RPD At Candlelight Vigil

It's been one year since Rochester Police Officer Daryl Pierson was shot and killed in the line of duty.

His sister, Patty, closes her eyes when she talks about the last time she saw him.

"Before I left that day, I hugged him, and I said I loved him, and I said goodbye. And had I known that that was going to be the last time that I'd hold him, or talked to him, or tell him I loved him, I would have never let him go."

Outside the Rochester Public Safety Building, hundreds of officers and supporters gathered around the memorial that now bears Pierson's name. Many of them, like Stephanie Rodriguez, didn't know Pierson personally, but came to support his family and the RPD.

"You have the people that don't like the police, and you have the people that do like the police. And I feel that, the people that do like the police, they're outweighing the people that don't right now. You can definitely feel the support here."

Pierson's father-in-law, Reverend Mitch Evans, spoke about the community coming together in the wake of tragedy and gun violence.

Sponsor Message

"I would like to suggest tonight, if I can, that it is not so much an issue of guns as it is an issue of God that is at the heart of our dilemma. I truly believe it is God and Godliness ... that is the ultimate need of the hour for each of us and for our nation."

Veronica Volk is a senior editor and producer for WXXI News.