It was an emotional day for hundreds of people Friday as they came out to pay their respects to a corrections officer killed while on duty.
The viewing was held for 34 year old Eric Williams who officials said was killed by an inmate at a federal prison in Wayne County.
Hundreds of people lined up outside the Greater Nanticoke Area High School to pay their final respects to a corrections officer killed in the line of duty.
Officials at the federal prison near Waymart say 34 year old Eric Williams died Monday after he was attacked by an inmate wielding a homemade weapon.
Williams, a Nanticoke native, attended the high school where his viewing was held.
Many here knew Eric and his family.
“Really shocked, I couldn`t believe it, it`s very senseless and really, really sad,” said Francesca Klinger of Nanticoke.
“Very sad for his parents, no parent should have to go through this,” said Sue Klinger of Nanticoke.
This procession of police cars traveled the Casey Highway in Lackawanna County, en route to the viewing.
Many here were fellow members of law enforcement.
Williams graduated from the Police Academy at Lackawanna College and worked as a police officer in Jefferson Township before becoming a corrections officer.
Dan Duffy is the director of the Police Academy and brought his cadets to the viewing.
“To see all the law enforcement community out here today is really an honoring experience and it`s a dedication to the family and to the friends and his co-workers that were there,” said Duffy.
These fellow brothers and sisters know all too well the dangers of the job, especially the Correctional Peace Officers Association Honor Guard, which makes a point to attend the funerals of fallen members of law enforcement.
“All of us, even the police officers on the street, the state police, the sheriff`s department, everything else, we`re all brothers,” said Captain Steve Dizmon with the honor guard.
Funeral services for Eric Williams will be held at Holy Trinity Church on South Hanover Street in Nanticoke on Saturday, March 2nd.
He will be buried at Saint Mary’s Cemetery in Hanover Township.