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First funeral for Atlanta officer killed in helicopter crash

Funeral services are being held this afternoon for Officer Richard Halford, one of the two Atlanta Police Department officers killed in a helicopter crash last weekend.

Halford and Shawn Smiley died last Saturday night when their chopper apparently got tangled up in power lines in west Atlanta.

Family, friends and fellow police officers streamed into Jackson Memorial Baptist Church on Fairburn Road in northwest Atlanta for Officer Halford’s visitation. An American flag draped his coffin as it was wheeled into the church.

"Death,” Halford’s former pastor told Channel 2 Action News, “is a word that leaves us with mixed emotions, many unanswered questions--and also in a state of helplessness."

Smiley's funeral is set for Saturday morning at First Baptist Church of Atlanta on North Peachtree.

Federal investigators say it could take a year to figure out all of the details of the crash.

The officers were search for a boy who had ran away. The 9-year-old was later found safe.

Mayor Kasim Reed has grounded the department's helicopter fleet.

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