Philly leaders honored slain Officer Jaime Roman at his funeral: ‘He chose to come back to serve his community’

Philadelphia Police Officer Jaime Roman grew up around the 600 block of West Bristol Street in Hunting Park, in the center of the Police Department’s 25th District, long one of the busiest and most violent sections of the city.

And yet years later, after Roman had grown up and joined the police force himself, he was presented with a choice on where he wanted to serve — and he did not hesitate, Commissioner Kevin Bethel said.

Roman asked to be assigned to the 25th District.

“He chose to come back to serve his community where he once was a child,” Bethel said. “He embodied what service meant, and what we wear on our badge each and every day.”

The 31-year-old Roman was laid to rest Thursday, nine days after he died from injuries he suffered while being shot in the line of duty in his district earlier this summer. Bethel’s emotional eulogy came during a funeral Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul that was packed with public officials, police officers, and Roman’s friends and family.

At the end of his remarks, Bethel announced that Roman would be posthumously promoted to sergeant, and that his badge numbers would be retired — never to be worn by another Philadelphia officer.

Roman was also awarded a Purple Heart and the city’s Medal of Valor, which is named after slain Sgt. Robert Wilson III, and Roman’s family would receive the city’s Medal of Honor in his memory, Bethel said.

Gov. Josh Shapiro said he’d spoken with Roman’s wife, Jazmin Hernandez, about her husband’s dedication not only to policing — but also to their two children, Evelina, 7, and Jaime, 4.

“We owe [fallen officers] a debt we can never repay, and we will never leave your side,” Shapiro said to Roman’s relatives.

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker added: “Now we’ll all have to be a part of their extended family.”

The ceremony capped a series of events honoring Roman that began Wednesday night — with a viewing and Commander’s March in Northeast Philadelphia — and continued before dawn Thursday.

Around 5 a.m., the hearse carrying his casket was escorted from a Northeast Philadelphia funeral home to Police Headquarters on North Broad Street, where rows of bagpipers and fellow officers in their dress uniforms lined up to escort Roman to the Basilica.

As his casket was guided through Center City, about a dozen Highway Patrol officers on motorcycles formed a protective cocoon around the hearse, and helicopters thundered above.

Bethel said the procession was a mark of respect and recognition for a man who lost his life while serving the city. Parker said 355 officers have been killed in the line-of-duty in Philadelphia since the 1800s, a fact she said reinforces the notion that law enforcement deserves the public’s support.

“We recognize the sorrow, but we also give honor to Jaime,” Bethel said. “It’s a proud moment for us when we walk.”

Police have said Roman, 31, was shot on June 22 by Ramon Rodriguez Vazquez, 36, during a traffic stop in Kensington. The officer and his partner had pulled Vazquez over on the 3500 block of F Street for lacking proper registration for his Toyota sedan, and subsequently discovered that Vazquez did not have a driver’s license.

While waiting for a tow truck to haul the car away, police said, the officers searched the car and discovered a gun holster tucked beneath a seat. When they attempted to confront Vazquez about it, police said, he ran away, then turned back and started shooting at them with a gun he had in his waistband.

Roman was struck in the neck and fell to the ground, police said. His partner returned fire but didn’t hit Vazquez, then put Roman into his patrol car and sped to Temple University Hospital.

Roman was admitted in critical condition and remained hospitalized until he died last week.

Vazquez, meanwhile, was ultimately apprehended inside a Kensington home where he’d attempted to barricade himself. He has been jailed ever since, and his charges were updated after Roman’s death to include murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer, and illegal gun possession.

He coincidentally was scheduled to have a preliminary hearing Thursday morning, but his next court appearance was pushed back until at least sometime later this month.

Roman’s family did not speak at Thursday’s Mass, and they had remained intensely private during the near-three-month battle Roman waged while fighting for his life.

But Bethel said he was “overwhelmed” by the love Roman’s relatives had displayed for him. Evelina, Roman’s daughter, now carries a stuffed animal that plays a recording of her father being sworn in as an officer when she squeezes its paw, the commissioner said.

And Roman’s son, also named Jaime, attended a Phillies game with police brass over the summer. Bethel described the younger Roman as a “ball of energy.”

Roman would have turned 32 on Sunday — something that became more poignant due to a scene outside the church. There, on a screen a few feet away from Roman’s parked patrol car on 18th Street, an old home video clip of Roman holding his son began to play.

A woman’s voice behind the camera could be heard singing to Roman, as his son joined in and wished his father, in uniform, happy birthday.

Sgt. Angel Ortiz, a colleague of Roman’s, was among those who attended Thursday’s proceedings. He said Roman was always willing to help colleagues and was sincere in his desire to improve life in the community where he grew up.

“It’s going to be a great loss to his family,” Ortiz said outside the Basilica. “It’s going to be a great loss to the city of Philadelphia. It’s going to be a great loss to the 25th District.”

Bethel encouraged those in the audience to mourn Roman’s loss — but also honor his legacy, one the commissioner said was rooted in family, community, and service.

“If we all honor Jaime’s legacy of what he stood for,” Bethel said, “then Jaime’s death will not be in vain.”