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The Latest: Slain officer promoted posthumously

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Latest on the fatal shooting of an Orlando police officer (all times local):

3:30 p.m.

An Orlando police sergeant who was gunned down was remembered as someone who made every effort to bridge the gap between law enforcement and the community it served.

Orlando Police Chief John Mina and U.S. Rep. Val Demings on Saturday said Master Sgt. Debra Clayton read books to children at elementary schools, would clean the homes of elderly and was a motherly figure to young people lacking parental guidance.

Demings was a former Orlando Police chief.

Mina said at Clayton’s funeral service that he is posthumously promoting Clayton to the rank of lieutenant.

Authorities say Clayton was gunned down outside a Wal-Mart store in Orlando last Monday after she approached 41-year-old Markeith Loyd.

Loyd was wanted for the murder of his pregnant ex-girlfriend, and authorities are offering a $100,000 reward for any information leading to his arrest.

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2:25 p.m.

Friends and family members wept openly as they walked by the American-flag-draped open casket of an Orlando Police sergeant gunned down in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

The funeral service for Master Sgt. Debra Clayton was being held Saturday at the First Baptist Church in Orlando, Florida.

Before the service, four helicopters flew overhead outside and then one peeled away in what is known as a “missing man” formation.

Authorities say Clayton was gunned down outside a Wal-Mart store in Orlando last Monday after she approached 41-year-old Markeith Loyd.

Hundreds of officers and deputies have been searching for him since Monday, and a $100,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to his arrest.

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1:20 p.m.

A local Chick-fil-A restaurant has set aside a table to honour an Orange County Sheriff’s Office deputy who was killed in a motorcycle crash while responding to the fatal shooting of an Orlando police officer.

The sheriff’s office on Saturday tweeted a photo of the white-clothed table at the fast-food restaurant that Deputy First Class Norm Lewis used to patronize near the University of Central Florida.

On the table were a red rose in a vase, a framed photo of Lewis and his regular meal of nuggets on a plate.

Lewis was killed in a crash while responding to the fatal shooting of Orlando Police Master Sgt. Debra Clayton last Monday.

Clayton’s funeral service is being held Saturday. A service for Lewis is set for Sunday.

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9:40 a.m.

An Orlando police sergeant who was gunned down by a wanted fugitive was being remembered Saturday at her funeral service for mentoring youth and her dedication to the community she grew up in.

Hundreds of officers, deputies and central Florida residents gathered at the First Baptist Church in Orlando to honour Master Sgt. Debra Clayton, who authorities say was gunned down Monday by a fugitive who had been wanted for the murder of his pregnant ex-girlfriend.

Authorities say Clayton was gunned down outside a Wal-Mart store in Orlando last Monday after she approached 41-year-old Markeith Loyd.

Hundreds of officers and deputies have been searching for him since Monday, and a $100,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to his arrest.

News from © The Associated Press, . All rights reserved.
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