Bishop: Slain Dallas officer a man of character, discipline

DALLAS – The bishop of Dallas’ Roman Catholic Diocese has told hundreds of mourners that a slain Dallas police officer was a man of character and discipline who put his family first.

Bishop Edward Burns spoke during the funeral Tuesday for 27-year-old Officer Rogelio (roh-HEE’-lee-yoh) Santander (san-TAN’-dur). He was fatally shot last week while questioning a suspected shoplifter at a Home Depot store.

The bishop says that as a boy, Santander wanted to fight crime like Batman. He says the officer “wanted to save a city.”

Hundreds of law enforcement officers from across the country gathered for the funeral in Rockwall, just northeast of Dallas.

Another officer and a store employee were injured in the April 24 shooting . The suspect, Armando Luis Juarez, is charged with capital murder. He’s being held at the Dallas County jail.

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This story has been corrected to show the shooting occurred on April 24, not April 27.