A number of temporary road closures are planned on Wednesday, Dec. 28 to accommodate the funeral procession of a fallen U.S. Park Police officer.
Sergeant Michael Boehm, a 19-year Park Police veteran, suffered an apparent heart attack and collapsed while responding to man found critically injured under the Key Bridge in D.C. on Dec. 16. Boehm, an Army veteran, was rushed to a local hospital but was later pronounced dead. He is survived by a wife and a son.
According to USPP, Boehm’s funeral procession will depart from a Burke, Va. funeral home at approximately 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 28. It will head into the District, pass by Park Police headquarters near Hains Point, then head back to a cemetery in Fairfax.
A number of rolling road closures will accompany the funeral procession in Arlington. Closures are expected on I-395, Washington Boulevard/Route 27, and the Memorial Bridge.
“Partnering law enforcement agencies and departments of transportation will assist with the road closures. All roads will be reopened as soon as possible,” USPP said in a media advisory. “The U.S. Park Police anticipates that the procession will take about 1.5 hours. The beginning time is approximate.”
Inconsiderate waste.
Hi. I’m karma. Nice to meet you.
Troubling thousands of people in an attempt to deify an individual is silly. Let’s put this in perspective, a cop died. It happens. Driving all over Northern VA for the purpose of making a show won’t bring him back.
I’m sorry for the loss to his family and to his coworkers, and I thank them for his service.
Having lost a family member myself and having been denied the escort of even one police officer just to help the caravan get through traffic to the cemetery (never mind road closings), I do think there should be consistency in how that privilege is granted. Other than for the death of a former president, I don’t think road closures are appropriate. LE are not supposed to be a privileged class.
Or firemen.
I was out hiking last week and the Front Royal police closed an intersection to help a procession go through. We had to wait for a few minutes, it was no big deal. Closing down major thoroughfares is an entirely different matter. When friends of mine from the Army died from combat-related injuries, their processions were far less impressive than what they want to do for a cop who had a heart attack.
If the guy died in a burning building saving kids, sure, I can see a bigger deal being made out of it. If a cop chokes to death at his desk should we be closing down highways?
Maybe your friends should have gone to college instead, but glad somebody like the Army will take the uneducated and misfits. The world world needs ditchdiggers too, Danny.
You do realize that more than a few people in the military did have other opportunities, but actually chose to serve?
Oh, we know. We were just pretty sure from your comments that you weren’t one of them.
And we have a winner for best zing of the day. Awesome.
What difference does it make if anyone served? Why do only military and law enforcement feel it’s their God-give right to have an opinion about their institutions? The rest of us pay for it, we have opinions too.
Completely agree that the police closing roads to honor one of their own is something of an abuse of authority.
The modern spectacle of the thousand-squad-car motorcade for police funerals speaks to a police culture run quite amok.
Honor the officer. Hold a fitting ceremony. But do not close the region’s roads “just because you can.”
Classy readers and comments section, ARLnow… Classy. What’s the point of the comments section, again? Oh that’s right… People really care what your self-important opinions are. Now go back to your useless lives. Thanks for your service… Oh wait, you probably never do anything selfless.
Jason S… Good luck with your life. You are a sincere piece of sh*T. As well as you Jay Reader, next time you call, I will make sure nobody shows up for you two azz jackets.
Its the 28th, you probably both took off next week so you could get all banged up at the Ballroom. Not sure why you care.
There are approximately 650 sworn officers in the USPP. Do you want the roads closed every time one of them passes away?
Sounds like Jason S served in the Army and lost buddies there. Which means he probably served in combat. So you’re gonna call an Army veteran and a probable combat veteran a piece of s– because of a viewpoint he posted on the internet? No, YOU are the piece of s—t.
His wasn’t even an extreme viewpoint. He actually said shutting down the intersection is OK but that both lanes of a major thoroughfare is overkill.
This was not a case of a police officer killed in the line of duty by a subject he was trying to apprehend hence it should be treated as an ordinary funeral procession.
He did die in the line of duty, while attempting to help someone who jumped off the key bridge. I have read a lot of the comments section on ARLNow and this has to be the most upsetting bullsh*t i have ever read.
If I had an ad on this site I would pull it so dumbas* people can’t talk crap about a dead police officer.
Cops close roads and stop traffic for others funerals all the time. It’s a free country. If 10,000 cops want to go to a funeral, then they can. It’s the responsibility of the on duty police to make sure traffic flows safely.
I agree with JBird. Self important, low morale class people run rampant in Arlington. The anonymity of the internet gives losers like Jason S a voice that nobody wants to hear.
10,000 cops attending the funeral on their own time, on their own dime: sure.
Thousands of cops attending in their government squad cars, and taking an extremely long, intentionally circuitous route, closing major thoroughfares as they go — that’s a symptom of a subculture that has become accustomed to abusing its authority.
What’s wrong, Jay? Upset that your funeral won’t be as significant?
There’s enough to complain about in society without being upset that someone who worked his life to better the lives of others, died while helping someone he never met is going to have a funeral that inconveniences you for an hour out of your life.
Get over it….you’re not that important.
So, is it also OK to send several hundred official government vehicles — squad cars — to participate in this funeral?
And where do we draw the line? Is it just police funeral processions that “deserve” major road closures? Frankly, we know exactly where cops draw the cut-off line: for a cop’s funeral, we shut the road down (and conduct a huge procession with taxpayer-funded vehicles), for all others, we don’t.
Arlington County has given out hundreds of free bicycle headlamps this year at $20 a pop. I dont see any criticism on this government spending. Are bicyclists a higher class than motorists? I have a headlight out on my truck, can I send the County the bill? You need to pick and choose your battles. When it comes to government spending on the local and larger level, Im OK with a few gallons of gas for a cops funeral. If this is keeping you up at night, then I can only imagine what’ll happen when you find out about some serious government waste, like 90% subsidized rent. Are headlamps a function of government also? If you can afford to live in arlington and afford a $400+ bike, cant you buy your own headlamp? Get a grip, people. All the dollars and no cents.